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OF    THIS     BOOK    TWO    HUNDRED    AND 

TWENTY-FIVE   COPIES   HAVE  BEEN 

PRINTED   ON    VAN    GELDER 

HAND-MADE     PAPER 


THREE  TYPES  OF 
WASHINGTON  PORTRAITS 


GENERAL  WASHINGTON 

PAINTED    BY    CHARLES    WILLSON    PEALE 


ORIGINAL    OWNER 

JOSEPH    WILSON 

OF    PHILADELPHIA    AND    DUBLIN 


PRESENT    OWNER 
CHARLES    A.    MUNN 


THREE  TYPES  OF 

WASHINGTON 

PORTRAITS 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

CHARLES  WILLSON  PEALE 

GILBERT  STUART 

BY 

CHARLES  ALLEN   MUNN 


NEW  YORK 

PRIVATELY  PRINTED 

MCMVIII 


R 

,4,5 

C 


COPYRIGHT,  1908 
BY  CHARLES  A.  MUNN 


FOREWORD 

FROM  the  time  Washington  took  com 
mand  of  the  army  at  Cambridge  a  very 
general  public  interest  was  aroused  in 
the  personal  appearance  of  the  Commander-in- 
Chief.  The  many  engraved  portraits  of  Wash 
ington  which  were  published  during  his  lifetime 
bear  upon  their  face  the  evidence  of  their  own 
identity  and  genuineness.  Not  so,  however,  the 
oil  portraits  which  have  as  a  rule  no  date  or  sig 
nature  ;  their  authenticity  rests  partly  upon  their 
inherent  quality  but  more  particularly  upon  their 
history  or  pedigree.  Most  of  the  original  por 
traits  of  Washington  were  painted  from  one  hun 
dred  and  ten  to  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
years  ago,  and,  as  in  so  long  a  period  document 
ary  evidence  of  authenticity  is  in  the  case  of  most 
of  the  contemporary  portraits  entirely  lost  or  rests 

vii 


FOREWORD 


upon  very  feeble  family  tradition,  it  is  desirable 
to  take  every  precaution  to  preserve  jealously  the 
pedigrees  of  such  portraits  as  are  beyond  dispute. 
Letters  or  documents  relating  to  such  a  precious 
heirloom  as  an  authentic  contemporary  portrait 
of  Washington  should  be  safe-guarded  in  every 
possible  way.  Such  documents  are  always  in 
danger  of  being  lost  or  destroyed,  but  there  is 
one  method,  reproduction  by  printing,  which  is 
more  sure  and  certain  than  preservation  even  in 
a  safe  deposit  vault.  Although  this  little  book 
is  circulated  only  among  a  small  circle  of  friends, 
it  is  hoped  that  the  printing  of  these  records  may 
be  the  means  of  preserving  in  perpetuity  the  his 
tory  and  the  pedigree  of  the  three  portraits  il 
lustrated  within  these  covers,  which  represent 
Washington  as  he  appeared  at  two  very  differ 
ent  periods  of  his  life — Washington,  the  Gene 
ral,  and  Washington,  the  President. 

C.  A.  M. 

THE  TERRACES, 
Llewellyn  Park,  Orange,  N.  J. 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING   PACK 

GENERAL  WASHINGTON Title 

Painted  by  Charles  Willson  Peale. 
Original  owner  Joseph  Wilson  of  Philadelphia  and 
Dublin.     Present  owner  Charles  A.  Munn. 

JOHN  TRUMBULL i 

From  a  portrait  by  Gilbert  Stuart.     Property  of 
Mrs.  William  Forbes  Morgan. 

PORTRAIT  OF  GENERAL  WASHINGTON     .        5 
Painted  by  John  Trumbull — 1780. 
Original  owner  M.  de  Neufville  of  Amsterdam. 
Present  owner,  Charles  A.  Munn. 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON 6 

Engraved  by  Valentine  Green — 1781. 
After  the  portrait  by  Trumbull.     The  earliest  gen 
uine  portrait  of  Washington  published  in  Europe. 

WASHINGTON 7 

After  the  Trumbull  portrait. 
With  fictitious  tropical  landscape. 

EARLY  CHINTZ  BED   CURTAIN  ....        8 

Allegorical  composition  with  figure  of  Washington 
after  the  Trumbull  portrait. 

EARLY  LACQUERED  TEA  TRAY   ...   14 

"The  Signing  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence." 
From  an  unknown  composition,  probably  by  Trum 
bull. 


IX 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING  PAGE 

WASHINGTON  AT  THE  BATTLE  OF  PRINCE 
TON  24 

Painted  by  Charles  Willson  Peale — 1783. 
Original  owner  Princeton  College.     Present  owner 
Princeton  University. 

EARLIEST    AUTHENTIC    ENGRAVED    POR 
TRAIT  OF  GENERAL  WASHINGTON   .      .      28 
Drawn  and  engraved  by  C.  W.  Peale — 1778. 

CHARLES  WILLSON  PEALE 31 

From  the  National  Portrait  Gallery. 

CHARLES  WILLSON  PEALE  CERTIFICATE       33 

Signed  by  Benjamin  Franklin. 
LETTERS  PATENT  APPOINTING  JOSEPH  WIL 
SON  CONSUL  AT   DUBLIN — 1794        .      -     40 

PRESIDENT  WASHINGTON 43 

Painted  by  Gilbert  Stuart  — 1795. 
Original  owner  Mr.  Scott  of  Lancaster,  Pa.     Pres 
ent  owner  Charles  A.  Munn. 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON 48 

Engraved  by  E.  Savage — 1801. 
After  the  Lansdowne  portrait. 

IVORY  MINIATURE  OF  GILBERT  STUART      52 

Painted  by  Miss  Goodridge. 

Owned  by  the  Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art. 

MINIATURE  OF  WASHINGTON     ....     60 

By  Robert  Field. 

Presented  to  Tobias  Lear  by  Mrs.  Washington. 

Owned  by  Charles  A.  Munn. 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

FROM    A    PORTRAIT    BY    GILBERT    STUART 
PROPERTY    OF    MRS.    WILLIAM    FORBES    MORGAN 


—  1 


THE  JOHN  TRUMBULL  TYPE 

WHEN  the  War  of  the  Revolution 
broke  out  there  was  in  Europe  a 
very  general  interest  in  the  man  who 
was  chosen  as  the  Commander-in-Chief  of  the 
American  army.  The  age  was  one  when  the 
love  of  portraiture  was  at  its  zenith,  and  the  beau 
tiful  mezzotints  which  we  know  so  well  and 
which  command  to-day  such  enormous  prices 
were  being  published  and  sold  for  a  few  shil 
lings.  The  publisher  in  those  days  was  gener 
ally  a  man  of  affairs  and  eager  to  turn  the  nimble 
shilling.  Of  course,  no  portrait  of  Washington 
had  been  sent  to  Europe  ;  in  fact,  no  engraved 
portrait  of  the  great  leader  existed  in  this  coun 
try,  nor  was  one  published  here  until  three  years 
after  the  war  began.  Such  a  little  obstacle  as 
this,  however,  did  not  stand  in  the  way  of  grat 
ifying  the  public  demand. 


,   TliREE   TYPES  OF  WASHINGTON   PORTRAITS 


In  September,  1775,  there  was  published  in 
London  a  very  curious  mezzotint,  entitled 
"  George  Washington,  Esq.,  General  and  Com- 
mander-in-Chief  of  the  Continental  Army  in 
America.  Done  from  an  original,  drawn  from 
life  by  Alexander  Campbell,  of  Williamsburgh, 
in  Virginia. "  This  portrait  which,  of  course, 
was  purely  fictitious,  may  be  found  in  every  col 
lection  of  Washington  portraits.  It  was  at  one 
time  considered  a  great  rarity.  It  certainly  is  a 
great  curiosity.  It  is  frequently  offered  at  pub 
lic  sale,  and  its  great  popularity  at  the  time  of 
its  publication  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  it  is  no 
longer  a  rarity,  except  when  found  in  very  fine 
condition.  It  represents  Washington  mounted 
on  a  charger,  galloping  at  full  speed  and  waving 
a  drawn  sword  in  his  hand,  while  a  bloody  bat 
tle  is  being  waged  in  the  background.  One  of 
these  prints  was  presented  to  Mrs.  Washington 
by  Joseph  Reed,  at  one  time  President  of  Con 
gress.  Washington,  in  acknowledging  the  re 
ceipt  of  the  print,  wrote  in  January,  1776,  as  fol 
lows  :  "  Mr.  Campbell,  whom  I  never  saw  to  my 
knowledge,  has  made  a  very  formidable  figure  of 
the  Commander-in-Chief,  giving  him  a  sufficient 
portion  of  terror  in  his  countenance."  In  view 
of  the  shameless  manner  in  which  the  public  had 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

been  imposed  upon  by  this  forgery,  it  is  hardly 
any  wonder  that  a  genuine  portrait  of  Washing 
ton,  engraved  by  one  of  the  great  master-hands 
of  the  art  of  engraving  in  mezzotinto,  should 
have  been  hailed  with  delight  by  the  collectors 
of  those  days. 

The  print  in  question  is  a  large  folio,  after  the 
painting  by  John  Trumbull.  Trumbull,  who 
had  served  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war  as  aide- 
de-camp  to  Washington,  had  had  frequent  op 
portunities  of  studying  the  features  of  the  man 
he  greatly  admired.*  In  May,  1780,  he  sailed 
for  the  other  side,  having  previously  resigned  his 
commission  in  the  army  in  order  to  make  a  seri 
ous  study  of  the  art  to  which  he  devoted  his  life. 
On  arriving  in  London  he  presented  a  letter  of 
introduction  from  Dr.  Franklin  to  Benjamin 
West,  and  soon  began  the  serious  study  of  art  un 
der  him  who  was  at  that  time  considered  a  great 
master,  a  charming  gentleman,  and  one  ever  wel- 

*  In  an  Orderly  Book  of  the  Commander-in-Chief,  contain 
ing  the  official  orders  issued  from  the  camp  at  Cambridge,  is 
found  the  following  : 

"  General  Orders  Head  Quarters,  July  27th,  1775 

Parole  Bedford,  Countersign  Guilford 
John  Trumbull  Esqr  being  appointed  Aid  de  Camp  to  his 
Excellency  the  Commander  in  Chief,  is  to  be  obeyed  as 
such."  A 


THREE    TYPES    OF    WASHINGTON    PORTRAITS 

come  at  court.  By  a  curious  coincidence,  Gil 
bert  Stuart  was  pursuing  his  studies  under  West 
at  the  same  time.  Before  many  months  had 
clasped,  however,  an  untoward  incident  occurred 
which,  for  the  time  being,  resulted  in  Trumbull 
severing  his  connection  with  his  master  and 
fleeing  England.  He  was  arrested  and  thrown 
into  prison  as  a  suspect,  during  the  period  im 
mediately  following  the  arrest  and  execution  of 
the  unfortunate  Andre.  He  languished  in  prison 
for  some  months,  but  was  finally  released  through 
the  good  offices  of  his  friend  and  patron,  Benja 
min  West,  who  interceded  with  the  King  in 
his  behalf.  No  proof  could  be  brought  against 
him;  the  only  crime  he  had  committed  was 
being  the  son  of  Jonathan  Trumbull,  the  patriot 
Governor  of  Connecticut,  and  of  having  served 
in  the  Continental  army.  On  obtaining  his  re 
lease  he  was  not  long  in  leaving  the  shores 
where  he  had  been  treated  so  inhospitably. 

When  Trumbull  arrived  on  the  Continent  he 
decided  to  take  up  his  residence  for  a  short  time 
in  Amsterdam,  and  upon  his  arrival  there  he 
found  important  papers  awaiting  him ;  in  short, 
he  found  a  packet  from  his  father,  Governor 
Trumbull,  containing  authority  and  instructions 
to  negotiate  a  loan  in  Holland  for  the  State  of 


t^'V)  v  ;l;v.;,v  <•'  v^  v  -f^y  :-^V!%^Vv^k''^LVi 

w?^^^w»?« 


^  /lyv^/iv./yx  ^^^^^tf^.iw^^fi^ffifiiygr 


PORTRAIT  OF  GENERAL  WASHINGTON 

PAINTED    BY    JOHN  TRUMBULL — 1780 


ORIGINAL   OWNER 

M.    DE    NEUFVILLE 

OF   AMSTERDAM 


PRESENT   OWNER 
CHARLES    A.    MUNN 


JOHN    TRUMBULL 

Connecticut.  He  at  once  repaired  to  the  bank 
ing  house  of  De  Neufville  &  Son,  the  members 
of  which,  he  says,  "  are  unquestionably  the  most 
worthy  of  the  confidence  of  the  State,  from  their 
knowledge,  connections  and  real  attachment  for 
America.  He  was  warmly  received  by  Mr.  De 
Neufville/'  He  writes,  "Immediately  on  my 
arrival  here  Mr.  De  Neufville  invited  me  to  his 
house,  where  I  am  at  present  very  hospitably 
and  elegantly  entertained." 

The  portrait  of  Washington,  illustrated  in  con 
nection  with  this  chapter,  may  have  been  pre 
sented  to  Mr.  De  Neufville  in  consideration  of 
many  favors  received,  but  it  must  have  been  con 
veyed  to  him  prior  to  Trumbull's  arrival  in  Am 
sterdam.  In  a  letter  to  his  father,  Governor 
Trumbull,  he  writes :  "I  have  received  from  him 
^100,  which  has  brought  me  off  without  the 
necessity  of  being  under  obligations  to  any  per 
sons  in  England/'  As  Trumbull  had  only  the 
most  limited  resources,  save  what  he  could  raise 
by  the  exercise  of  his  profession,  it  seems  possi 
ble  that  this  sum  may  have  been  in  payment  for 
the  portrait  of  Washington.  No  mention  is 
made  of  the  portrait  in  his  correspondence  or 
papers,  and  conjecture  alone  can  solve  the  prob 
lem  of  how  the  portrait  came  into  the  possession 


THREE    TYPES    OF    WASHINGTON    PORTRAITS 

of  the  banker.  As  a  matter  of  historic  interest 
there  will  be  found  on  another  page  a  reproduc 
tion  of  the  famous  engraving,  by  Valentine  Green, 
and  the  title  under  the  engraving  is  given  here 
in  full : 

GENERAL     WASHINGTON 

Painted  by  J.  Trumbull,  Esq.,  of  Connecticut,  1780.  En 
graved  by  V.  Green,  Mezzotinto  Engraver  to  His  Majesty  and 
to  the  Elector  Palatin.  Engraved  from  the  original  picture  in 
the  possession  of  M.  De  Neufville,  of  Amsterdam.  Publish' d 
by  Appointm1  of  M.  De  Neufville,  Janry  isth,  1781,  by  V. 
Green,  N.  29,  Newman  Street,  Oxford  Street,  London. 

From  the  above  it  would  appear  that  the  por 
trait  must  have  been  sold  to  the  banker  De  Neuf 
ville  before  Trumbull  left  London.  Trumbull 
was  released  from  prison  in  June,  1880.  He 
remained  in  London  a  few  days  only,  and  then 
set  out  for  the  Continent.  In  his  autobiography 
he  mentions  having  met  Mr.  De  Neufville,  the 
son  and  junior  partner  of  the  house,  in  London. 
It  is  probable  that  the  portrait  was  sold  to  him 
at  that  time,  and  it  is  further  probable  that  the 
portrait  was  not  sent  to  Amsterdam  until  after 
Trumbull  had  left  London.  He  remained  in 
Amsterdam  until  August,  1781,  when  he  sailed 
for  America.  The  portrait,  however,  must  have 
remained  in  the  hands  of  Valentine  Green  until 
approximately  the  date  of  its  publication,  which 
was  January  15,  1781.  Its  size  is  28x36  inches. 

6 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

ENGRAVED    BY    VALENTINE    GREEN iy8l AFTER    THE    PORTRAIT    BY   TRUMBULL 

THE    EARLIEST   GENUINE    PORTRAIT    OF    WASHINGTON    PUBLISHED    IN    EUROPE 


WASHINGTON 

AFTER   THE  TRUMBULL   PORTRAIT 
WITH    FICTITIOUS   TROPICAL    LANDSCAPE 


JOHN    TRUMBULL 

The  popularity  of  the  portrait  was  very  great. 
It  was  the  first  authentic  portrait  of  Washington 
that  had  been  published  in  Europe,  and  copies 
of  it  were  soon  issued  in  France  and  elsewhere. 
One  of  the  most  attractive  of  these  reproductions 
was  published  in  Brussels,  in  1781,  in  the  "Es- 
sais  Historiqueset  Politiquessur  les  Anglo-Amer- 
icains  "  par  M.  Hilliard  d'Auberteuil.  An  en 
larged  edition  (folio)  of  this  same  attractive  work 
was  published  in  the  following  year,  the  print 
having  been  enlarged  to  fit  the  increased  size  of 
the  book,  by  the  addition  of  an  attractive  border. 

A  curious  corruption  of  this  same  portrait  was 
published  in  "  Beautes  de  1'Histoire  des  Etats- 
Unis,"  Par  J.  B.  Nougaut,  Paris,  1817.  It  was 
engraved  by  Maria  Misa.  The  figure  of  Wash 
ington  is  the  same,  but  the  Commander-in-Chief 
is  standing  on  a  promontory  surrounded  by  gigan 
tic  tropical  trees  and  with  a  fleet  of  diminutive 
war  ships  occupying  the  bay  in  the  background. 

The  persistency  with  which  this  figure  of 
Washington  appears  in  the  various  engravings 
and  prints  of  the  period  is  shown  in  a  contem 
porary  bed  curtain  which  is  reproduced  in  an 
accompanying  engraving.  It  was  the  custom  to 
provide  the  old  mahogany  four-posters  of  our 
forefathers  with  suitable  bed  hangings,  and  in  the 


THREE    TYPES    OF    WASHINGTON    PORTRAITS 

curtain  shown  the  figure  of  Washington  is  an 
exact  reproduction  of  the  Trumbull  portrait. 
This  composition  is  an  exceedingly  interesting 
one.  An  attractive  female  figure,  bearing  a  palm 
in  one  hand  and  treading  disdainfully  upon  the 
shield  of  Great  Britain,  seems  to  be  approaching 
the  General  with  the  view  of  whispering  some 
word  of  encouragement  or  flattery  in  his  ear. 
In  her  right  hand  she  carries  a  medallion  embel 
lished  with  the  portraits  of  Adams  and  Laurens. 
An  angel  who  is  floating  in  the  air  above  is  in  the 
act  of  crowning  the  Commander-in-Chief  with 
a  laurel  wreath,  and  at  the  same  time  she  is  blow 
ing  lustily  on  a  trumpet  and  proclaiming  to  the 
world  those  immortal  words,  "  Washington  and 
Independence."  On  an  altar  is  seated  the  God 
dess  of  Liberty,  who  is  contemplating  a  portrait 
of  Baron  Steuben.  Two  female  figures  are  doing 
homage,  one  of  them  being  in  the  act  of  burn 
ing  incense  on  the  altar. 

The  various  heads  on  the  medallions  are  faith 
ful  reproductions  of  the  Du  Simitiere  series  of 
portraits  of  well-known  Revolutionary  leaders. 
The  originals  of  these  prints  are  greatly  prized 
by  collectors. 

There  is  another  bed  curtain  print  of  the  same 
early  period,  which  is  somewhat  similar  to  the 

8 


JOHN    TRUMBULL 

one  illustrated.  The  figure  of  Washington  is 
the  same  as  that  in  the  Trumbull  portrait,  with 
the  exception  that  he  is  represented  as  wearing 
a  military  hat  and  is  standing  in  a  chariot  drawn 
by  tigers  which  are  being  urged  forward  by  two 
Indian  boys  who  are  blowing  on  trumpets.  Stand 
ing  near  the  chariot  is  a  full-length  figure  of  the 
immortal  Dr.  Franklin  in  his  inevitable  fur  cap. 
Minerva,  armed  with  a  shield  adorned  with  thir 
teen  stars,  points  out  to  the  aged  philosopher  a 
temple  of  fame  located  in  the  background. 

This  portrait  of  Washington,  owing  to  the 
many  engravings  which  had  been  made  of  it,  was 
perfectly  well  known  to  collectors  and  lovers  of 
Washingtoniana ;  nevertheless  for  more  than  a 
hundred  years  the  whereabouts  of  the  portrait  was 
entirely  unknown,  and  all  hope  of  ever  discover 
ing  this  interesting  original  had  been  abandoned 
when  it  was  found  in  this  city  in  the  possession 
of  a  well-known  art  dealer,  who  had  just  brought 
it  over  from  London,  and  it  was  quickly  acquired 
by  the  present  owner. 

Whereas  Gilbert  Stuart  will  ever  be  known 
prominently  as  the  portrait  painter  of  the  newly 
formed  government,  Trumbull  will  be  known 
to  posterity  as  the  patriot  painter  of  the  Revo 
lution.  By  tradition  and  early  training  and  by 


THREE    TYPES    OF    WASHINGTON    PORTRAITS 

the  later  course  of  his  art  studies,  this  proved  to 
be  the  most  natural  development  of  his  nature. 
Reared  in  an  atmosphere  of  politics,  an  eye  wit 
ness  of  the  stirring  events  preceding  the  Revo 
lution  and  with  a  father  who  was,  of  all  the  war 
governors,  perhaps  the  most  aggressive  and  who 
was  known  throughout  the  Colonies  under  the 
affectionate  nickname  which  Washington  him 
self  applied  to  him,  "Brother  Jonathan,"  is  it 
any  wonder,  when  his  son's  facility  in  art  work 
had  matured,  that  he  should  have  desired  to  per 
petuate  the  stirring  events  of  the  War  of  Inde 
pendence  ?  In  his  autobiography,  Trumbull  de 
votes  comparatively  little  space  to  his  work  in 
portraiture,  but  his  main  pride  seems  to  rest  upon 
his  historical  compositions.  In  fact,  he  painted 
comparatively  few  portraits  but  devoted  his  time 
principally  to  the  great  events  of  the  war,  which 
seemed  particularly  to  fire  his  imagination.  No 
one  who  has  not  visited  the  Art  School  at  Yale 
University  can  form  any  conception  of  Trum- 
bull's  work.  There  may  be  seen  the  Battle  of 
Bunker  Hill,  the  Battle  of  Princeton,  the  Death 
of  Montgomery,  the  Capture  of  the  Hessians  at 
Trenton,  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne  and,  last 
but  not  least,  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 
All  of  these  are  comparatively  small  pictures  and 

10 


JOHN    TRUMBULL 

should  not  be  confounded  with  the  large  car 
toons  in  the  National  Capitol,  which  were  painted 
many  years  later.  When  the  Capitol  at  Wash 
ington  was  being  completed  and  the  great  dome 
was  in  course  of  erection,  the  idea  was  projected 
of  decorating  the  wall  of  the  rotunda  with  great 
historical  paintings.  Trumbull  applied  himself 
to  the  task  of  getting  an  appropriation  from 
Congress  for  the  carrying  forward  of  this  work. 
This  resulted  in  his  corresponding  with  a  num 
ber  of  prominent  people  with  reference  to  this 
project.  The  outcome  of  this  correspondence 
was  varied,  and  in  many  cases  very  discouraging 
to  the  artist.  The  following  letter  from  Presi 
dent  John  Adams  throws  a  curious  side  light  on 
the  primitive  conditions  of  the  times  and  upon 
the  curious  Puritanical  point  of  view  as  regards 
the  art  development  of  the  nation: 

"  Quincy,  January  i,  1817. 
"  My  dear  Sir: 

Your  kind  letter  of  the  26th  of  Decr  has  given  me 
more  pleasure  than  it  would  be  prudent  or  decent  for 
me  to  express. 

"  Your  design  has  my  cordial  approbation  and  best 
wishes.  But  you  will  please  to  remember  that  the 
Burin  and  the  Pencil,  the  Chisel  and  the  Trowell  have 
in  all  ages  and  Countries  of  which  we  have  information 
been  enlisted  on  the  side  of  Despotism  and  Supersti- 

ii 


THREE    TYPES    OF    WASHINGTON    PORTRAITS 

tion.  I  should  have  said  Superstition  and  Despotism, 
for  Superstition  is  the  first  and  Universal  Cause  of 
Despotism. 

"  Characters  and  Counsels  and  Actions  merely  social, 
merely  civil,  merely  political,  merely  moral,  are  always 
neglected  and  forgotten.  Architecture,  Sculpture, 
Painting  and  Poetry  have  conspired  against  the  Rights 
of  Mankind  and  the  Protestant  Religion  is  now  un 
popular  and  odious  because  it  is  not  friendly  to  the 
Fine  Arts. 

"  I  am  not  however  a  Disciple  of  Rousseau.  Your 
Country  ought  to  acknowledge  itself  more  indebted  to 
you  than  to  any  other  artist  who  ever  existed  and  I 
therefore  heartily  wish  you  success. 

"  But  I  must  beg  pardon  of  my  Country,  when  I  say 
that  I  see  no  disposition  to  celebrate  or  remember  or 
even  curiosity  to  enquire  into  the  Characters,  Actions 
or  Events  of  the  Revolution. 

"  I  am  therefore  more  inclined  to  despair,  than  to 
hope  for  your  success  in  Congress  though  I  wish  it 
with  all  my  heart. 

"  I  should  be  glad  to  be  informed  of  your  progress, 
being  with  sincere  esteem  and  real  affection 

Your  friend 

John  Adams." 
"  Col.  Trumbull." 

Adams  did  not  do  justice,  however,  to  the  sense 
of  patriotism  of  the  representatives  of  the  people, 
for  not  many  months  elapsed  before  Congress 
appropriated  thirty-two  thousand  dollars  for  the 


JOHN    TRUMBULL 

carrying  out  of  the  work,  and  Trumbull  was 
commissioned  to  paint  four  of  the  large  canvases 
which  now  embellish  the  lower  walls  of  the  great 
rotunda. 

Undoubtedly  the  best  known,  and  deservedly 
so,  of  all  these  important  pictures  is  the  "  Sign 
ing  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence."  Trum 
bull  passed  many  years  of  his  life  in  preparing  the 
studies  from  life  of  the  chief  actors  in  this  drama. 
For  a  very  long  time  the  picture  remained  un 
finished,  owing  to  the  difficulty  which  he  had 
in  procuring  portraits  of  some  of  the  Signers. 
The  original  picture  in  the  Yale  Gallery  is  full  of 
beauty  and  character.  The  large  cartoon  which 
hangs  under  the  great  dome  of  the  National 
Capitol  and  which  is  the  painting  from  which 
Trumbull's  reputation  is  principally  judged,  is 
inferior  to  the  earlier  pictures  in  every  particu 
lar.  It  was  painted  many  years  after  the  earlier 
composition  was  completed  and  not  until  long 
after  Trumbull's  skill  as  an  artist  had  begun  to 
wane.  From  an  historical  point  of  view  the  loss 
of  this  group,  had  it  never  been  reproduced,  would 
have  been  the  most  serious  loss  that  could  have 
come  to  the  Nation  artistically,  for  in  this  com 
position  are  preserved  to  posterity  the  portraits 
of  the  most  distinguished  statesmen  of  the  revo- 

13 


THREE    TYPES    OF    WASHINGTON    PORTRAITS 

lutionary  period,  and  the  likenesses  of  very  many 
of  these  men  would  have  been  irretrievably  lost 
had  it  not  been  for  Trumbull.  Fortunately  there 
is  no  danger  now  of  such  a  calamity,  as  there  are, 
besides  the  two  paintings  by  Trumbull  himself, 
the  one  at  New  Haven  and  the  other  at  the 
Capitol,  the  admirable  steel  engraving  by  A.  B. 
Durand.  Owing  to  the  reproductions  which 
have  been  made,  this  notable  picture  is  now  fa 
miliar  to  every  school  boy  in  America.  There 
is  reproduced  on  another  page  a  very  curious 
corruption  of  this  picture.  It  appears  on  an  old 
lacquered  tea-tray  which  was  found  in  an  an 
tiquity  shop  in  Shrewsbury,  England,  several 
years  ago  by  a  friend  of  the  writer,  and  promptly 
purchased  and  sent  to  America.  By  comparing 
this  composition  with  the  well-known  print,  it 
will  be  observed  that  there  are  some  distinct  dif 
ferences.  It  will  be  noticed  that  there  are  six 
figures  instead  of  five  standing  before  the  desk  of 
President  John  Hancock  and  also  that  the  group 
ing  is  far  different.  Now  what  explanation  can 
be  offered  for  this  variation  from  the  original? 
It  is  hardly  likely  that  the  artisan  who  made  the 
lacquered  tea-tray  did  anything  more  than  slav 
ishly  copy  some  design  which  was  placed  before 
him,  nor  is  it  reasonable  to  suppose  that  some 


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JOHN    TRUMBULL 

other  artist  was  employed  to  alter  in  such  minor 
respects  the  design  of  Trumbull.  Such  a  prac 
tice  was  not  followed  in  the  case  of  other  simi 
lar  reproductions  from  celebrated  paintings, 
as  for  example  the  views  and  scenes  which  have 
been  reproduced  so  attractively  on  the  Stafford 
shire  blue  china.  Is  it  not  more  likely  that  the 
design  was  some  original  study  which  had  been 
rejected  by  Trumbull  but  which,  through  some 
accident,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  tray-maker  ? 

In  the  Library  of  Princeton  University  there 
are  six  preliminary  studies  of  the  Battle  of  Prince 
ton,  all  of  which  vary  materially  in  composition, 
but  which  in  spirit  are  close  cousins.  It  is  doubt 
less  true  that  Trumbull,  who  was  a  painstaking 
and  laborious  artist,  followed  a  similar  course 
with  reference  to  the  Declaration  of  Independ 
ence,  and  that  one  of  these  preliminary  studies  has 
been  preserved  in  a  manner  which  could  hardly 
have  been  anticipated  by  the  artist  himself. 

For  the  portraits  which  Trumbull  introduced 
in  these  compositions  he  made  small  oil  sketches 
from  life  of  the  distinguished  actors  in  the  dramas 
represented;  these  portraits  were  made  in  Lon 
don,  Paris,  and  in  various  parts  of  this  country 
from  Massachusetts  to  South  Carolina.  Some 
of  his  most  charming  productions  are  his  por- 

15 


THREE    TYPES    OF    WASHINGTON    PORTRAITS 

traits  and  studies  in  miniature.  They  are  not 
true  miniatures,  as  they  are  painted  in  oils  on 
wood,  but  they  are  full  of  character  and  indi 
viduality.  Peale  painted  many  miniatures,  but 
they  were  painted  in  water  colors  on  ivory. 

These  historical  pieces  never  passed  into  pri 
vate  hands.  Trumbull  sought  to  gain  his  liveli 
hood  by  having  his  principal  pictures  engraved, 
and  these  prints  were  offered  for  sale  in  this 
country  and  abroad.  Trumbull's  portraits  are, 
therefore,  of  comparative  rarity.  There  are  only 
a  few  authenticated  portraits  of  Washington  by 
him,  although  probably  there  is  no  artist  (not 
even  excepting  Peale)  who  had  equal  opportuni 
ties  with  Trumbull  of  limning  the  Father  of  his 
Country. 

Besides  the  portrait  described  above,  perhaps 
the  most  widely  known  portrait  is  the  one  rep 
resenting  Washington  at  the  Battle  of  Trenton, 
which  is  now  owned  by  Yale  University.  This 
was  painted  in  1792.  It  is  a  large  canvas  and 
represents  the  Commander-in-Chief  full  length 
and  life  size,  with  a  field  glass  in  his  right  hand. 
At  the  rear  is  a  horse  held  by  an  orderly  and  on 
the  ground  a  dismantled  cannon.  This  portrait 
was  engraved  by  Thomas  Cheesman  and  pub 
lished  in  London  August  i,  1796.  This  engrav- 

16 


JOHN    TRUMBULL 

ing  is  in  stipple.  The  same  picture  was  en 
graved  in  mezzotint  by  W.  Warner  and  pub 
lished  in  Philadelphia  in  1845.  This  portrait 
was  originally  painted  for  the  City  of  Charles 
ton,  but  the  style  of  treatment  was  considered 
too  martial  and  heroic  and  the  portrait  was  re 
jected.  Trumbull  later  painted  another  portrait 
for  Charleston,  but,  judging  from  the  print  en 
graved  in  mezzotint  and  recently  published  by 
Rosenthal,  the  City  was  not  the  gainer  by  refus 
ing  the  earlier  portrait.  An  admirable,  full-size 
copy,  in  oils,  of  the  New  Haven  portrait  has 
recently  been  hung  in  the  Union  Club,  New 
York,  having  been  presented  to  the  Club  by 
members  who  are  Sons  of  the  Revolution. 

The  next  most  important  portrait  is  an  impos 
ing,  full-length  hanging  in  the  Council  Cham 
ber  of  the  City  Hall  in  New  York.  It  repre 
sents  the  Commander-in-Chief  in  full  uniform, 
standing  in  front  of  the  fort  which  was  formerly 
located  at  the  Battery,  at  the  southern  end  of 
New  York  City.  The  Bay  and  Narrows  may 
be  seen  in  the  background  and  the  harbor  is  full 
of  shipping.  This  important  portrait  has  never 
been  properly  engraved.  At  the  suggestion  of 
the  writer  some  years  ago  Mr.  Arlent  Edwards, 
the  clever  mezzotint  engraver,  whose  color  prints 

17 


THREE    TYPES    OF    WASHINGTON    PORTRAITS 

are  so  widely  known,  was  induced  to  make  a  re 
production  in  mezzotint  of  the  portrait,  but  he 
labored  under  great  difficulties,  as  the  room  was 
dark  and  the  picture  could  not  be  taken  down, 
and  so  the  result  was  not  altogether  satisfactory. 

The  only  other  important  portrait  of  Wash 
ington  by  Trumbull  is  a  full-length  representa 
tion  of  the  Commander-in-Chief  in  uniform, 
standing  by  the  side  of  his  grey  charger.  This 
closely  resembles  the  portrait  at  the  City  Hall 
and  evidently  was  a  study  for  the  larger  picture. 
It  was  painted  in  1790  and  measures  20  x  30 
inches  and  is  therefore  considerably  smaller  than 
the  "de  Neufville"  portrait  first  described  in 
this  chapter.  This  picture  belonged  to  General 
Edmund  Law  Rogers,  of  Baltimore  and  now 
belongs  to  the  Rogers  Estate. 

Some  idea  of  the  intimate  relations  that  ex 
isted  between  Washington  and  Trumbull  may 
be  gathered  from  the  accompanying  letter. 

Copy  of  a  letter  from  General  Washington 
to  the  Marquis  De  La  Fayette 

"Philadelphia,  Nov.  2ist,  1791. 
My  dear  Sir: 

Mr.  John  Trumbull  with  whom  you  are  ac 
quainted  is  engaged  in  painting  a  series  of  pic- 

18 


JOHN    TRUMBULL 

tures  of  the  most  important  events  of  the  Revo 
lution  in  this  country  from  which  he  proposes 
to  have  plates  engraved. 

I  have  taken  this  peculiar  satisfaction  in  giv 
ing  every  proper  aid  in  my  power  to  a  subscrip 
tion  supporting  this  work,  which  has  been  like 
wise  patronised  by  the  principal  people  in  this 
country. 

In  the  hope  of  meeting  the  patronage  of  the 
French  nation,  to  whose  honor  as  well  as  that 
of  America,  this  plan  is  directed,  Mr.  Trumbull 
informs  me  that  he  has  ordered  a  subscription  to 
be  opened  in  Paris,  and  the  object  of  this  letter 
is  to  engage  you  to  support  the  subscription  in 
that  City,  and  other  parts  of  the  Nation  where 
it  may  be  offered. 

I  should  not  however  do  justice  to  Mr.  Trum- 
bull's  talents  and  merits  were  I  to  question  his 
views  and  wishes  on  this  occasion.  His  pieces 
so  far  as  they  are  executed  meet  the  warm  ap 
plause  of  all  who  have  seen  them — the  greatness 
of  the  design  and  the  masterly  execution  of  the 
work  equally  interest  the  man  of  a  capacious 
mind,  as  the  approving  eye  of  the  connoisseur. 
He  has  spared  no  pains  in  obtaining  from  the  life 
the  likeness  of  those  characters,  French  as  well  as 
American,  who  bore  a  conspicuous  part  in  our 

19 


THREE    TYPES    OF    WASHINGTON    PORTRAITS 

Revolution — and  the  success  with  which  his  ef 
forts  have  been  crowned  will  form  no  small  part 
of  the  value  of  his  pieces. 

To  you,  my  dear  Sir,  who  know  Mr.  Trum- 
bull  as  a  man  and  as  an  artist,  it  would  perhaps 
have  been  hardly  necessary  to  say  so  much  as  I 
have  done,  on  this  occasion.  But  I  could  not 
in  justice  say  less  of  him  when  I  believe  in  his 
profession  he  will  do  much  honor  to  the  liberal 
art  of  painting  as  well  as  to  this,  his  native 
country. 

I  cannot  conclude  this  letter  without  con 
gratulating  you  most  sincerely  on  the  King's 
acceptance  of  the  Constitution  presented  to  him 
by  the  National  Assembly,  and  upon  the  happy 
consequences  which  promise  to  flow  to  your 
Country,  as  well  as  to  mankind  in  general  from 
that  event.  The  prayers  and  wishes  of  the 
friends  of  the  human  race  have  attended  the  ex 
ertions  of  your  Nation;  and  when  your  affairs 
shall  be  completely  settled  under  an  energetic 
and  equal  government  the  hearts  of  good  men 
will  be  gratified,  and  no  one  will  rejoice  in  your 
felicity,  and  for  the  noble  and  disinterested  part 
you  have  acted,  more  than  your  sincere  friend 
and  truly  affectionate  servant 

(Signed)  Geo.  Washington/' 

20 


JOHN    TRUMBULL 

The  letter  copied  above,  in  Washington's 
handwriting,  is  in  the  possession  of  the  writer 
and  with  it  is  a  copy  of  the  letter  in  the  hand 
writing  of  Trumbull.  Accompanying  this  copy 
is  the  following  note  in  the  handwriting  of  Trum 
bull,  which  is  interesting  as  explaining  why  the 
letter  of  introduction  was  never  delivered  to 
La  Fayette. 

"  This  sheet  covers,  for  the  purpose  of  its 
preservation  if  possible,  a  letter  written  by  Genl. 
Washington  to  the  Marquis  de  La  Fayette  in 
1791  recommending  to  his  protection  in  France 
the  subscription  of  Mr.  Trumbuirs  series  of  en 
gravings  intended  to  commemorate  the  great 
events  of  the  American  Revolution.  This  letter 
was  written  at  the  request  of  Mr.  T.  and  sent 
by  him  to  his  correspondent  in  London  (Mr. 
A.  C.  de  Poggi)  to  be  used  in  France.  Un 
happily,  before  the  letter  came  to  the  hands  of 
Mr.  Poggi  the  French  Revolution  had  begun 
to  assume  that  character  of  bloody  and  inhuman 
ferocity  which  rendered  it  a  curse  and  not  a 
blessing  to  the  human  race,  and  when  Mr. 
Trumbull  accompanied  Mr.  Jay  to  London  in 
1797  it  was  returned  to  his  hands/' 


21 


THE  CHARLES  WILLSON  PEALE  TYPE 

IN  the  autumn  of  1 905,  while  visiting  a  friend 
who  is  a  Professor  in  Princeton  University, 
the  writer  learned  of  a  portrait  of  Wash 
ington,  painted  by  Charles  Willson  Peale,  which 
was  offered  for  sale  in  Dublin,  Ireland.  Hav 
ing  obtained  the  address  of  the  owner,  a  corre 
spondence  ensued,  which  extended  over  many 
months.  After  the  credentials  had  been  exam 
ined  and  satisfactory  arrangements  had  been 
made,  Mr.  Roger  E.  Fry,  Curator  of  Paintings 
of  the  Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art  of  New 
York,  who  was  about  to  sail  for  Europe,  kindly 
consented  to  visit  Dublin  and  examine  the  por 
trait.  His  report  proved  to  be  satisfactory,  and 
the  sale  was  finally  confirmed  by  cable.  The 
picture,  carefully  packed  in  a  metal  sarcopha 
gus,  arrived  here  safely  in  August,  1906,  some 
ten  months  after  the  opening  of  negotiations. 


22 


CHARLES    WILLSON    PEALE 

The  portrait  is  an  important  one,  the  canvas 
measuring  five  feet  two  inches  by  seven  feet. 

A  reproduction  of  the  work  is  published  op 
posite  the  title  page.  The  Commander-in-Chief 
is  represented  as  standing  beside  a  field-piece, 
upon  which  he  is  resting  his  left  hand.  In  his 
right  hand  he  holds  a  hat  and  across  his  breast  is 
the  conventional  blue  sash  which  is  often  shown 
in  the  portraits  of  Washington  painted  by  Peale. 
The  British  standards  are  lying  in  disorder  on 
the  ground,  and  overhead  floats  proudly  the  ban 
ner  of  the  Colonies.  In  the  background,  at  the 
left,  is  the  college  campus  at  Princeton,  and  some 
British  prisoners  in  red  coats  are  being  marched 
across  the  field  under  guard.  Grand  old  Nassau 
Hall,  the  largest  building  at  that  time  in  the  Col 
onies,  stands  out  distinctly  in  the  background. 
The  expression  of  the  Commander-in-Chief  is 
particularly  pleasing  and  the  painting  has  been 
much  admired  by  those  who  have  examined  it. 

The  picture  is  carefully  painted  and  the  can 
vas  is  entirely  untouched  and  clean  and  spotless, 
as  when  it  left  the  easel.  In  all  probability,  the 
picture  was  painted  between  the  years  1780  and 
1783.  The  portrait  of  Washington  hanging  in 
the  Faculty  room  of  old  Nassau,  in  Princeton, 
was  painted  in  the  latter  year. 

23 


THREE    TYPES    OF    WASHINGTON    PORTRAITS 

As  may  be  seen  by  examining  the  reproduc 
tion  of  the  latter  portrait  on  another  page,  the 
banner  displayed  over  the  head  of  the  General 
is  the  stars  and  stripes.  At  first  sight  it  seems 
as  if  the  flag  were  composed  of  stripes  alone,  but 
a  careful  examination  discloses  one  star  and  the 
intimation  of  a  blue  field.  The  banner  of  the 
Dublin  portrait,  however,  is  a  plain  blue  field 
with  a  circle  of  thirteen  stars  —  an  earlier  de 
vice.  It  would  appear,  therefore,  that  this  por 
trait  must  have  been  painted  earlier  than  the 
Princeton  portrait. 

Much  interest  centers  in  the  question  of  the 
flag  used  during  the  early  part  of  the  war.  Pre- 
ble,  in  his  "  History  of  the  Flag  of  the  United 
States,"  says  :  "  The  portrait  of  Washington  at 
the  battle  of  Trenton,  December  26-27,  1776, 
painted  by  Charles  Willson  Peale  in  1779,  rep 
resents  the  Union  Jack  with  thirteen  stars  ar 
ranged  in  a  circle,  but  it  affords  only  presump 
tive  proof  that  such  a  flag  was  carried."  Mr. 
Peale's  son,  Titian  R.  Peale,  writing  to  a  friend 
in  1870,  says  :  "I  have  just  had  time  to  visit  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  to  see  the  portrait  of 
Washington  painted  by  my  father  after  the  bat 
tle  of  Trenton.  It  is  marked  in  his  handwrit 
ing,  1779.  The  flag  represented  a  blue  field 

24 


WASHINGTON.  AT  THE  BATTLE  OF  PRINCETON 


PAINTED    BY    CHARLES    W.    PEALE 1783 


ORIGINAL   OWNER 
PRINCETON    COLLEGE 


PRESENT   OWNER 
PRINCETON    UNIVERSITY 


CHARLES    WILLSON    PEALE 

with  white  stars  arranged  in  a  circle.  I  don't 
know  that  I  ever  heard  my  father  speak  of  that 
flag,  but  the  trophies  at  Washington's  feet  I 
know  he  painted  from  the  flags  then  captured, 
and  which  were  left  with  him  for  that  purpose. 
The  blue  ribbon  has  also  excited  comment  - 
the  badge  of  a  Field  Marshal  of  France  in  that 
day.*  I  have  no  other  authority,  but  feel  as 
sured  that  flag  was  the  flag  of  our  own  army  at 

*The  statement  that  the  blue  sash  worn  by  Washington  in 
this  portrait  and  in  other  portraits  of  the  Commander-in-Chief 
was  the  insignia  of  a  Marshal  of  France  was  founded  upon  a 
very  popular  fallacy.  When  the  army  was  encamped  before 
Boston,  owing  to  the  absence  in  many  cases  of  uniforms  there 
was  much  confusion  and  difficulty  in  recognizing  the  person 
and  rank  of  officers  who  might  endeavor  to  pass  the  lines.  In 
a  MS.  copy  of  General  Washington's  orders  belonging  to  the 
writer  is  found  the  following  entry: 

"General  orders.  Head  Quarters,  July  1 4th,  1775 

Parole,  Halifax.  Countersign,  Inverness 

There  being  something  awkward  as  well  as  improper  in 
the  general  officers  being  stopped  at  the  outposts;  ask'd  for 
passes  by  the  centinals  &  obliged  often  to  send  for  the  officer  of 
the  guard  who  at  sometimes  is  as  unacquainted  with  the  persons 
of  the  Generals  as  the  privates  before  they  can  pass  out  or  in, 
therefore  it  is  Recommended  to  the  officers  and  men  to  make 
themselves  acquainted  with  all  the  officers  in  general  command 
and  in  the  meantime  to  prevent  mistakes  the  general  officers 
and  their  aid  de  camps  to  be  distinguished  in  the  following 
manner,  the  Commander-in-Chief  a  light  blue  ribbon  wore 
acrost  his  breast  between  his  coat  and  waistcoat,  the  majors 
and  brigadier  generals  by  a  pink  ribbon  wore  in  like  manner, 
the  aid  de  camps  by  a  green  ribbon." 

25 


THREE  TYPES  OF  WASHINGTON  PORTRAITS 

the  time,  1779.  My  father  commanded  a  Com 
pany  at  the  battles  of  Germantown,  Trenton, 
Princeton  and  Monmouth,  and  I  am  sure  repre 
sented  the  flag  then  in  use,  not  a  regimental  flag, 
but  one  to  mark  the  new  Republic." 

Preble  further  says:  "I  have  been  unable  to 
find  that  it  was  ever  required  that  the  stars 
should  be  arranged  in  a  circle,  though  in  Trum- 
bull's  painting  of  the  Surrender  of  Burgoyne  and 
in  Peale's  portrait  of  Washington,  the  stars  are 
arranged  in  that  manner  by  those  artists.  The 
resolution  of  Congress  of  1 777  gives  no  direc 
tion  as  to  the  arrangement  of  the  stars,  but  says 
they  represent  not  Lyra,  nor  any  heavenly  clus 
ter  of  stars,  but  a  new  constellation." 

An  unfinished  sketch,  of  the  battle  of  Prince 
ton,  by  Trumbull,  January  3,  1777,  in  the  Art 
School  at  New  Haven,  represents  the  American 
flag  with  thirteen  stars  on  a  blue  field. 

Peale,  as  intimated  above,  had  served  under 
Washington  and  was  therefore  perfectly  familiar 
with  the  customs  of  war  and  the  camp.  He  had 
made  a  careful  study  of  military  detail  and  pos 
sessed  a  solemn  reverence  for  the  events  of  the 
Revolution. 

Although  no  record  can  be  found  of  the  blue 
flag  with  thirteen  stars  having  been  authorized 

26 


CHARLES    WILLSON    PEALE 

by  Congress,  it  is  hardly  likely  that  this  careful 
painter  of  the  Revolution,  should  have  represented 
a  flag  which  was  not  in  actual  use  by  the  army. 
Such  a  supposition  is  quite  contrary  to  reason. 
The  banners  lying  inverted  at  the  left  of  Wash 
ington  have  been  identified  as  colors  captured  from 
the  Hessians  at  the  battle  of  Trenton.  In  a  book 
entitled  "  Regimental  Colors  in  the  War  of  the 
Revolution/'  by  Gherardi  Davis,  there  is  quoted  a 
letter  written  on  December  31,1 776,  by  William 
Ellery,  in  which  he  describes  with  great  accuracy 
the  Hessian  colors  captured  at  Trenton.  This 
letter  absolutely  confirms  the  statement  made  by 
Titian  R.  Peale  that  these  standards  were  copied 
from  the  originals,  and  it  is  a  wonderful  tribute 
to  the  care  and  accuracy  of  Peale's  work  that  the 
detail  shown  in  these  flags  corresponds  exactly 
with  Mr.  Ellery's  description. 

It  is  interesting  in  this  connection  to  compare 
this  portrait  with  the  engraving  which  is  con 
sidered  by  collectors  in  many  respects  the  most 
prized  of  all  the  portraits  of  the  General.  It  is 
the  first  engraved  portrait  of  Washington  pub 
lished  in  this  country.  This  portrait  was  en 
graved  in  mezzotinto  by  Charles  Willson  Peale 
after  a  portrait  by  himself,  painted  for  Governor 
Hancock.  In  a  paper  read  by  William  S.  Baker, 

27 


THREE    TYPES    OF    WASHINGTON    PORTRAITS 

the  pioneer  student  of  Washington  portraiture, 
before  the  Pennsylvania  Historical  Society  in 
1889,  allusion  is  made  to  the  existence  of  this 
print.  He  says  that  the  first  engraved  portrait 
was  executed  in  1778.  "  From  this  plate,  how 
ever,  no  impressions  are  known,  the  information 
as  to  its  production  being  obtained  from  his  man 
uscript  note  book  as  follows:  'Oct.  16,  1778. 
Began  a  drawing  in  order  to  make  a  mezzotinto 
of  Genl.  Washington.  Got  a  plate  of  Mr.  Brooks, 
and  in  pay  I  am  to  give  him  20  of  the  prints  in 
the  first  100  struck  ofT.  Nov.  i5th.  Began  to 
print  off  the  small  plate  of  Genl.  Washington. 
1 6th,  Continued  the  same  business  all  day  and 
sold  1 1  doz.  at  Five  Doll's.' '  What  would  not 
this  veteran  collector  and  student  have  given  to 
have  seen  and  owned  one  of  these  rarities  !  It 
was  fifteen  years  after  this  before  one  of  these 
prints  was  discovered  and  given  out  to  the  world 
in  the  admirable  Catalogue  of  Washington  Por 
traits,  issued  by  the  Grolier  Club  in  1904.  The 
only  title  on  the  print  is  that  shown  in  the  repro 
duction  :  "  His  Excellency,  George  Washington, 
Esqr."  Mr.  Charles  Henry  Hart,  the  able  Ed 
itor  of  this  work,  says  in  his  preface  :  "  Perhaps 
the  most  important  find  recorded  in  these  pages 
is  the  first  number  of  the  book,  Charles  Willson 

28 


.i  i  .1  ..s     E     "  •   •.  .  <      r  c  \ 
•      - 


EARLIEST  AUTHENTIC  ENGRAVED  PORTRAIT  OF  GENERAL  WASHINGTON 

DRAWN   AND    ENGRAVED    BY    C.    W.    PEALE,    1778 


CHARLES    WILLSON    PEALE 

Peale's  earliest  mezzotint  portrait  of  Washing 
ton,  published  in  1778  and  which,  until  my  dis 
covery,  was  thought  not  to  exist,  being  known 
only  by  its  advertisement/'  The  advertisement 
alluded  to  appeared  in  the  Pennsylvania  Packet 
or  General  Advertiser,  for  Saturday,  November 
21,  1778,  and  mentions  the  print  as  on  sale  by 
John  Dunlap,  at  the  price  of  five  dollars,  and 
reads:  "A  few  mezzotint  prints  of  His  Excel 
lency,  General  Washington/*  As  an  engraving 
it  is  a  crude  piece  of  work.  As  a  work  of  art  it 
is  singularly  deficient.  The  pose  is  awkward  and 
theatrical,  and  the  drawing  leaves  everything  to 
be  desired  ;  but  in  spite  of  these  crudities  this 
youthful  face  bears  a  striking  resemblance  to  the 
Washington  in  the  Dublin  portrait.  To  the 
heart  of  the  collector  this  print,  with  all  its 
amateurish  peculiarities,  will  always  have  a  spec 
ial  charm  and  attraction  as  being  the  first  medium 
by  which  an  admiring  public  learned  to  know 
anything  concerning  the  physical  appearance  of 
the  Commander-in-Chief.  It  seems  singular 
and  is  a  conclusive  evidence  of  the  primitive 
condition  of  art  in  those  days  that  three  years 
elapsed  after  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  before 
a  portrait  should  have  been  published  of  the  man 
who  was  the  most  admired  and  esteemed  of  men 

29 


THREE    TYPES    OF    WASHINGTON    PORTRAITS 

by  his  fellow-countrymen,  and  whose  fame  had 
extended  to  the  most  remote  parts  of  Europe. 

The  youthful  Washington  of  the  period  of  the 
Revolution  is  a  type,  strange  to  say,  which  seems 
to  be  comparatively  unknown  to  the  ordinary 
layman,  whose  only  idea  of  the  Father  of  his 
Country  is  that  portrayed  in  the  Stuart  portraits. 
It  is  interesting,  therefore,  in  this  connection,  to 
compare  the  type  disclosed  in  the  Dublin  por 
trait  with  the  head  shown  in  the  Trumbull  por 
trait  previously  described,  which  was  painted 
about  the  same  period.  The  resemblance  be 
tween  the  two  is  certainly  very  striking.  Peale 
had  singular  opportunities  for  making  studies 
and  portraits  of  the  Commander-in-Chief,  and 
there  is  no  doubt  that  he  painted  more  portraits 
of  the  General  from  life  than  any  other  artist. 
Mr.  W.  S.  Baker,  in  his  pioneer  work  on  the 
engraved  portraits  of  Washington,  states  that 
Peale  painted  fourteen  portraits  of  Washington 
from  life.  It  has  not  been  claimed  that  Trum 
bull  painted  more  than  three  from  life,  nor  is 
it  likely  that  Stuart  painted  more  than  that  same 
number  from  life,  although  it  would  seem  that 
he  must  have  had  an  opportunity  of  touching 
up  some  of  his  copies  while  he  had  the  Presi 
dent  in  his  studio  for  some  of  his  sittings. 

30 


CHARLES  WILLSON  PEALE 

FROM  THE  NATIONAL  PORTRAIT  GALLERY 


CHARLES    WILLSON    PEALE 

There  is  a  most  interesting  similarity  in  the 
careers  of  Trumbull  and  Peale.  Although  Peale 
was  fifteen  years  the  senior  of  Trumbull,  they 
both  went  to  Boston  to  study  art,  and  both  of 
them  applied  to  Copley  for  assistance  or  advice. 
Both  served  in  the  War  of  the  Revolution  and 
both  attained  some  prominence.  Peale  reached 
the  rank  of  Captain  of  Volunteers  and  Trumbull 
served  as  Aide-de-Camp  to  Washington,  and  later 
was  appointed  Major  of  Brigade  and  finally 
reached  the  rank  of  Colonel.  Both  went  to 
London  to  study  painting  under  their  fellow- 
countryman,  Benjamin  West.  When  they  re 
turned  to  their  native  land,  after  their  studies 
abroad  had  been  completed,  both  were  inter 
ested  in  establishing  art  schools  in  their  adopted 
cities.  Trumbull  was  a  leading  spirit  in  and 
became  the  President  of  the  New  York  Acad 
emy  of  Fine  Arts,  the  predecessor  of  the  Acad 
emy  of  Design,  while  Peale  attempted  to  form 
an  Academy  of  Fine  Arts  in  Philadelphia.  Both 
devoted  their  artistic  talents  principally  to  paint 
ing  the  portraits  of  men  prominently  connected 
with  the  Revolution  and  with  the  infant  gov 
ernment.  Their  line  of  work,  however,  was 
along  somewhat  different  channels,  for  although 
Peale  devoted  himself  entirely  to  portraiture, 


THREE    TYPES    OF    WASHINGTON    PORTRAITS 

Trumbull  became  the  pictorial  historian  of  the 
Revolution.  Of  the  two  men,  Peale  had  the 
greater  versatility,  and  his  many  accomplish 
ments  are  the  subject  of  considerable  mirth  at 
the  hands  of  that  ribald  chronicler  and  critic, 
William  Dunlap.  In  his  "History  of  the  Arts 
of  Design "  he  says:  "We  shall  sum  up  the 
trades,  employments  and  professions  of  Mr.  Peale 
somewhat  as  his  biographer  in  the  Cabinet  of 
National  History  has  done.  He  was  a  saddler, 
harness  maker,  clock  and  watch  maker,  silver 
smith,  painter  in  oils,  crayons  and  miniature, 
modeler  in  clay,  wax  and  plaster ;  he  sawed  his 
own  ivory  for  his  miniatures,  moulded  the  glasses 
and  made  shagreen  cases;  he  was  a  soldier,  a  leg 
islator,  a  preserver  of  animals,  whose  deficiencies 
he  supplied  by  means  of  glass  eyes  and  artificial 
limbs ;  he  was  a  dentist,  and  he  was,  as  his  bi 
ographer  truly  says,  a  mild,  benevolent  and  good 
man."  Dunlap  neglected  to  mention  in  his  list 
the  fact  that  Peale  was  an  engraver  in  mezzo- 
tinto  (an  art  little  practiced  in  this  country  at 
that  time)  of  no  mean  ability.  Owing  to  their 
intrinsic  interest  and  great  rarity  Peale's  mezzo 
tints  sell  for  more  to-day  than  Peale  received  dur 
ing  his  lifetime  for  his  original  portraits.  He 
died  in  1 827,  in  the  eighty-sixth  year  of  his  age. 

32 


^ll  n$ 

>  « •? ' 


CHARLES    WILLSON    PEALE 

Trumbull  died  in    1843,  *n  t^le  eighty-seventh 
year  of  his  age. 

HISTORY   OF  THE   PEALE    PORTRAIT   OF 
WASHINGTON 

The  portrait  was  purchased,  as  stated  above, 
in  1906,  from  James  Harrington  Wilson,  of 
South  Hill,  Clifden,  County  of  Galway,  Ireland. 
The  following  is  the  history  of  the  portrait  as 
given  by  the  late  owner,  the  original  of  which,  is 
in  the  possession  of  the  present  owner  of  the  por 
trait,  together  with  all  the  other  papers  referred 
to  hereinafter,  including  the  commission  to  the 
original  owner,  Joseph  Wilson,  signed  by 
George  Washington,  President,  and  the  commis 
sion  issued  to  his  son,  Thomas  Wilson,  and 
signed  by  John  Quincy  Adams,  President. 

STATEMENT  OF  JAMES   H.  WILSON 

County  of  Galway     |       I,  James    Harrington  Wil- 

TO  WIT  j  son,  of  South  Hill,  Clifden,  in 

the  County  of  Galway,  and  of  Armagh,  in  the  County 

of  Armagh,  esquire,  do  solemnly  and  sincerely  declare 

as  follows : 

1 .  THAT  my  paternal  great-grandfather  was  Joseph 
Wilson,  formerly  of  Philadelphia  in  the  United  States 
of  America  and  of  the  City  of  Dublin,  merchant. 

2.  THAT  my  said  great-grandfather  was  owner  of 
estates  in  the  County  of  Armagh  to  which  I  have  suc- 

33 


THREE    TYPES    OF    WASHINGTON    PORTRAITS 

ceeded  as  heir  under  settlements  made  by  the  settle 
ments  and  wills  of  my  said  great-grandfather  Joseph 
Wilson  and  my  grandfather  Thomas  Wilson. 

3.  THAT   I   have   since  the  death  of  my  father 
Joseph  Wilson,  been  in  possession  of  the  said  estates 
and  as  such  became  the  owner,  and  have  been  in  pos 
session  of  the  portrait  of  General  George  Washington 
hereafter  referred  to. 

4.  MY  said  great-grandfather  Joseph  Wilson  resided 
in,  and  was  a  merchant  of  considerable  standing  in  the 
City  of  Philadelphia,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  was 
the  owner  of  considerable  property  in  the  City  of  Phila 
delphia  adjoining  the  River  Delaware,  and  also  a  man 
of  great  wealth   and    owner   of  property    in    Ireland 
and  from  the  repute  in  my  family   he    was    Aid-de- 
Camp  to  General  George  Washington,  the  first  Presi 
dent    of  the    United    States    of  America  during  the 
War  of  Independence,  and  a  great    personal    friend 
of  his. 

5.  WHEN  my  said  great-grandfather  came  to  re 
side  in  Dublin  he  was  appointed  Consul  for  the  United 
States,  and  I  refer  to  the  original  Patent  of  his  appoint 
ment  as  such  Consul  which  is  dated  the  29th  day  of 
May  1794  and  signed  by  George  Washington  and  the 
Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States  of  America,  and 
on  which  marked  "A"  I  have  signed  my  name  before 
making  this  Declaration. 

6.  IT  IS  THE  reputation  in  my  family  that  the 
full-length  picture  of  General  George  Washington  was 
a  presentation  to  my  said  great-grandfather  from  the 
said  General  Washington,  and  that  to  prove  his  grati- 

34 


CHARLES    WILLSON    PEALE 

tude  to  my  said  great-grandfather  the  said  General 
Washington  stood  for  the  picture  and  had  it  painted 
for  him,  and  my  said  great-grandfather  Joseph  Wilson 
by  his  will  bequeathed  the  picture  as  an  heirloom  to 
his  son  Thomas  Wilson.  My  said  great-grandfather's 
will  is  dated  the  ijth  day  of  February,  1809  and  I  re 
fer  to  an  official  certified  copy  of  extracts  from  same  on 
which  marked  "B"  I  have  signed  my  name  before 
making  this  Declaration. 

7.  MY  GRANDFATHER  the  said  Thomas  Wil 
son  who  succeeded  to  the  said  estates  and  possession 
of  the  said  picture  was  also  appointed  Consul  for  the 
United  States  of  America  at  Dublin,  and   I   refer  to 
the  original  Patent  of  his  appointment  signed  by  Presi 
dent  John  Quincy  Adams  and  dated  the  iyth  day  of 
March  1826,  and  countersigned  by  H.  Clay,  Secretary 
of  State  for  the  United  States  of  America,  on  which 
marked  "  C  "  I  have  signed  my  name  before  making 
this  Declaration. 

8.  MY  GRANDFATHER  the  said  Thomas  Wil 
son  bequeathed  the  said  picture  of  General  Washing 
ton  to  his  son  my  father  Joseph  Wilson  also  to  go   as 
an  heirloom  with  the  family  estates,  and  I  refer  to  an 
official  copy  extract  from  the  will  of  my  said  grand 
father  Thomas  Wilson  which  is  dated  the  I5th  day  of 
April  1857,  and  on  which  marked  "  D  "  I  have  signed 
my  name  before  making  this  Declaration. 

9.  MY  FATHER  the  said   Joseph  Wilson   suc 
ceeded  to  the  family  estates  and  to  possession  of  the 
picture  of  General  Washington,  and  by  his  will  my  said 
father  bequeathed  the  said  picture  to  the  Trustees  of 

35 


THREE    TYPES    OF    WASHINGTON    PORTRAITS 

his  will  to  go  upon  the  trusts  of  the  family  real  estates 
in  the  County  of  Armagh  as  contained  in  the  will  of 
his  late  father  Thomas  Wilson.  I  refer  to  an  official 
copy  extract  from  the  will  of  my  said  father  Joseph 
Wilson  dated  2yth  day  of  July  1898  on  which  marked 
"E"  I  have  signed  my  name  before  making  this 
Declaration. 

10.  MY  SAID  FATHER  Joseph  Wilson  died  on 
the  2yth  day  of  July  1898  and  on  his  death  I  went 
into  possession  of  the  said  family  estates  and  into  pos 
session  of  the  picture  of  the  said  General  Washington, 
and  I  became  owner  of  the  said  family  estates  in  the 
County  of  Armagh  as  tenant  in  tail  in  possession  and 
as  such  tenant  in  tail  in  possession  I  became  absolute 
owner  at  law  of  the  said  picture. 

1 1.  I  DULY  disentailed  the  said  family  estates  and 
am  now  the  absolute  owner  thereof  as  well  as  of  the 
said  picture. 

12.  THE  picture  of  General  Washington  which  I 
now  refer  to,  and  which  is  at  present  in  my  solicitors' 
office  at  10  Ely  Place  in  Dublin  is  the  original  picture 
which  belonged  to  my  great-grandfather  Joseph  Wil 
son,  and  which  has  remained  in  my  family  ever  since, 
and  I  say  that  the  said  picture  was  greatly  valued  and 
esteemed  as  a  painting  from  life  of  the  said  General 
Washington  by  my  said  great-grandfather,  grandfather 
and  father  as  a  memorial  of  the  personal  friendship  of 
my  great-grandfather  Joseph    Wilson   with    the  said 
General  Washington. 

And  I  make  this  solemn  declaration  conscientiously 
believing  the  same  to  be  true  and   by  virtue   of  the 

36 


CHARLES    W1LLSON    PEALE 


Statutory  Declarations  Act  1835  (5  an^  6  William  IV) 
Cap  62 

Made  and  subscribed 

James  H.  Wilson  before  me  this  2Oth 

day  of  June,  1906. 

John  J.  King, 
Commr.  for  oaths. 

COPY  OF  THE  WILL  OF  JOSEPH  WILSON,  DATED 
FEBRUARY  IJ,  1809 

In  the  name  of  God.  Amen.  I  Joseph  Wilson 
formerly  residing  at  Philadelphia  in  the  United  States 
of  America  now  of  the  city  of  Dublin  Merchant.  .  .  . 
make  this  as  my  last  will  and  testament  hereby  revok 
ing  all  former  will  or  wills  by  me  heretofore  made.  .  . 
I  also  hereby  devise  to  my  said  son  Thomas  Wilson 
all  my  printed  Books  together  with  my  watch  and  fire 
arms  and  my  whole  length  picture  of  General  Washington 
which  picture  I  desire  may  remain  to  him  and  his 
heirs  as  an  Heir  loom  but  in  case  my  said  son  Thomas 
should  not  live  to  attain  the  age  of  Twenty  two  years 
or  not  leave  lawful  issue  then  the  foregoing  bequests 
to  the  use  and  benefit  of  my  son  Robert  Wilson  but 
in  case  he  should  not  live  to  attain  the  age  of  Twenty 
two  years  or  not  leave  lawful  issue  then  to  my  own 
right  heirs. 

COPY   OF  THE  WILL  OF  THOMAS  WILSON,   DATED 
APRIL    15,    1857 

In  the  Name  of  God    Amen    I  Thomas  Wilson  of 
Temple  Street  in  the  City  of  Dublin  being  of  sound 

37 


THREE     TYPES    OF    WASHINGTON     PORTRAITS 

and  disposing  mind  memory  and  understanding  after 
first  giving  expression  to  my  feelings  of  gratitude  and 
thankfulness  to  that  omnipotent  Being  who  has  watched 
over  and  protected  me  for  such  a  number  of  years  and 
after  stating  my  firm  and  steadfast  belief  in  the  Divine 
Mission  of  His  Son  Our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ  declare  this  to  be  my  last  Will  and  Testament. 

I  also  give  and  bequeath  to  my  said  wife  for 

her  own  absolute  use  and  benefit  (save  and  except  my 
picture  of  General  Washington  which  I  hereby  specifi 
cally  bequeath  to  my  said  son  Joseph  to  the  intent 
that  so  far  as  the  rules  of  Law  and  equity  will  permit 
the  same  may  go  and  be  as  an  heir  Loom)  all  my  car 
riages  and  horses 

COPY  OF  THE  WILL   OF  JOSEPH   WILSON, 
DATED    1898 

I  Joseph  Wilson  of  Clonmore  Stillorgan  in  the 
County  of  Dublin  Esquire  Deputy  Lieutenant  do 
hereby  revoke  all  former  wills  and  testamentary  dis 
positions  made  by  me  and  declare  this  to  be  my  last 
will  and  testament. 

I  give  and  bequeath  my  picture  of  General  Washington 
unto  the  Honorable  Frederick  Richard  Falkiner  Re 
corder  of  Dublin  my  son  in  law  Frederick  Codding- 
ton  Pilkington  my  daughter  Anne  Elizabeth  Savage 
and  my  Sons  Joseph  Reginald  Wilson  and  Wilfred 
Claude  Stanley  Wilson  their  executors  administrators 
and  assigns  upon  such  trusts  as  shall  or  may  as  nearly 
as  the  rules  of  law  or  equity  will  permit  correspond 
with  and  be  similar  to  the  limitations  of  the  real  Estate 

38 


CHARLES    WILLSON    PEALE 

in  the  County  of  Armagh  in  Ireland  contained  in  the 
said  will  of  my  late  father,  yet  so  that  the  said  trust 
premises  shall  not  for  the  effect  or  purpose  of  trans 
mission  vest  absolutely  in  any  person  or  persons  who 
would  be  tenant  or  tenants  in  tail  male  or  general  by 
purchase  under  the  said  limitations  contained  in  the 
said  will  of  my  late  father  who  shall  not  live  to  attain 
the  age  of  twenty-one  years  but  the  issue  who  would 
be  inheritable  under  such  limitations  as  aforesaid  shall 
not  be  excluded  I  declare  that  the  said  Frederick  Rich 
ard  Falkiner,  Frederick  Coddington  Pilkington,  Ann 
Elizabeth  Savage,  Joseph  Reginald  Wilson  and  Wil 
fred  Claude  Stanley  Wilson  hereinafter  called  my 
trustees  or  trustee  shall  not  be  obliged  to  see  to  the 
preservation  of  my  said  picture  of  General  Washington 
nor  be  answerable  for  the  loss  thereof  or  any  injury 
thereto  while  in  the  possession  of  the  person  for  the 
time  being  entitled  to  the  possession  thereof  under  the 
trusts  hereinbefore  declared  concerning  the  said  pict 
ure. 

LETTER   FROM   MESSRS.  HARRINGTON  &  SON, 
SOLICITORS  OF  JAMES  HARRINGTON  WILSON 

Dublin,  July  28th,  1906. 
re  General  Washington. 
Dear  Sir. 

This  picture  was  handed  over  to  Mr.  Strickland, 
and  we  understand  that  it  has  been  packed  and  de 
spatched  by  him  to  you,  and  we  have  received  the 
purchase  money  from  the  Royal  Bank  of  Ireland, 
Limited. 

39 


THREE    TYPES    OF    WASHINGTON    PORTRAITS 

We  now  send  you,  per  registered  post : — 

(1)  Original  Patent  signed  by  George  Washington  ap 

pointing  Joseph  Wilson  Consul  in  Dublin. 

(2)  Original  Patent  signed  by  President  Adams  ap 

pointing  Thomas  Wilson  Consul  in  Dublin. 

(3)  Official  extracts  from  the  will  of  Joseph  Wilson, 

1809. 

(4)  Official  extract  from  the  will  of  Thomas  Wilson, 

1857. 

(5)  Official  extracts  from  will  of  Joseph  Wilson,  1898. 

(6)  Original  statutory  Declaration  of  Mr."  James  Har 
rington  Wilson  giving  the  history  of  the  picture. 
We  hope  that  the  picture  will  arrive  quite  safely, 

and  shall  be  glad  to  have  an  acknowledgment  of  re 
ceipt  of  these  documents,  and  of  the  picture. 
We  are,  dear  Sir, 

Yours  very  truly, 

Barrington  &  Son 
Charles  A.  Munn,  Esq., 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  connection  be 
tween  the  present  owner  and  the  original  pro 
prietor  is  shown  in  a  manner  unusually  complete, 
and  that  the  portrait  has  never  been  out  of  the 
family  of  the  original  proprietor  until  the  time 
of  the  sale  to  the  present  owner,  in  1906. 

Owing  to  Peale's  unusual  opportunities  in 
campaigning  with  Washington  and  having  his 
personal  confidence,  he  was  afforded  more  sit 
tings  of  the  Commander-in-Chief  than  any  other 

40 


s  i  *.  i  *  i'- « ;  -5  ? 


<JS    'I  •*    "5 

f  I  ^    -s  i  - 


3      i    -    ~ 


\\ri^\\\\^\^ 


"i    ^     \\\\  i^^\\\\\~*%€*k\\ 
z,     '*     I  •*  3  ^  J  i  «•»  Tl-«  J  a^-lJ  T:i  a 


CHARLES    WILLSON    PEALE 

painter  ever  enjoyed.  In  addition  to  the  ones 
described  above,  namely,  the  Princeton  and  the 
Dublin  portraits,  there  may  be  mentioned  the 
one  now  hanging  in  the  Capitol  at  Washington, 
which  originally  belonged  to  the  Count  de  Me- 
nou.  The  Metropolitan  Museum  in  New  York 
owns  a  very  fine  copy,  presented  by  the  late  C. 
P.  Huntington.  There  is  an  interesting  one  in 
Independence  Hall,  which  was  recently  brought 
to  this  country  from  Spain.  Mr.  Thomas  Mc- 
Kean,  of  Philadelphia,  owns  one,  and  there  is 
one  at  Shirley,  on  the  River  James.  There  is 
one  in  the  Palais  at  Versailles.  The  Earl  of 
Albemarle  owns  a  copy  which  was  captured  on 
the  high  seas  by  his  ancestor,  Captain  Keppel. 
It  now  hangs  in  the  great  hall  in  Quiddenham 
Hall,  Norfolk,  England. 

An  extremely  interesting  portrait  of  Wash 
ington  by  Peale  hangs  in  the  State  House  at 
Annapolis.  Like  the  others  mentioned  above, 
it  is  a  full-length  and  in  treatment  and  manner, 
as  well  as  in  the  figure  of  the  Commander-in- 
Chief,  it  strongly  suggests  the  Princeton  por 
trait,  although  it  differs  from  it  widely  in  com 
position.  The  special  interest  attaching  to  this 
portrait  is  that  standing  beside  the  central  fig 
ure  are  the  Marquis  de  La  Fayette  and  Colonel 


THREE    TYPES    OF    WASHINGTON    PORTRAITS 

Tench  Tilghman.  The  head  of  the  Marquis 
resembles  a  small  head  of  this  able  young  French 
officer  which  was  engraved  by  Peale  in  oval 
form  in  mezzotint  and  which  is  greatly  prized 
by  collectors  because  of  its  intrinsic  interest  and 
its  great  rarity. 

At  the  Chicago  Exposition  there  was  a  por 
trait  that  appeared  to  have  been  painted  by  Peale. 
By  some  strange  misconception  it  was  attributed 
in  the  French  catalogue  to  Trumbull.  It  be 
longed  to  Mme.  de  Pusy,  of  Paris,  and  formed 
part  of  the  French  Loan  Exhibition  of  Ameri 
can  Revolutionary  relics.  This  attribution,  how 
ever,  is  no  more  amusing  than  that  given  by  Sir 
Walter  Armstrong,  Director  of  the  National 
Gallery  of  Ireland  and  author  of  a  work  on 
Gainsborough  and  many  other  well-known  books, 
who,  after  examining  the  Dublin  portrait,  gave 
a  certificate  to  the  effect  that  in  his  opinion  the 
portrait  was  undoubtedly  an  original  work  of 
Gilbert  Stuart.  It  is  gratifying  to  feel  that  this 
charming  portrait  by  Peale,  after  a  sojourn 
abroad  of  over  one  hundred  and  ten  years, 
should  once  again  have  returned  to  the  Father 
land. 


PRESIDENT  WASHINGTON 

PAINTED    BY   GILBERT    STUART 1795 


ORIGINAL    OWNER 

MR.    SCOTT 
OF    LANCASTER,    PA. 


PRESENT    OWNER 
CHARLES   A.    MUNN 


•*-""•    ^"^p- 


THE  GILBERT  STUART  TYPE 

LIKE  Trumbull  and  Peale,  Stuart  went 
abroad  at  an  early  age  to  study  art 
under  Benjamin  West.  Born  in  1755, 
he  sailed  for  England  at  the  outbreak  of  the 
war  in  1775  and  thus,  unlike  these  other  artists, 
he  saw  no  service  during  the  Revolution.  It 
seems  strange  that  he  should  have  tarried  in 
London  four  years  before  presenting  himself  to 
West,  but  such  seems  to  have  been  the  case. 
He  remained  abroad  seventeen  years,  during 
which  time  he  painted  many  of  the  most  dis 
tinguished  people  of  the  times,  not  the  least  of 
which  were  his  master  and  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds. 
His  portraits  of  these  two  brought  him  into 
great  prominence  and  many  of  his  portraits  of 
important  people  were  engraved  by  Valentine 
Green,  J.  R.  Smith,  W.  Ward,  Charles  Turner 
and  other  of  the  leading  engravers  of  the  day. 

43 


THREE    TYPES    OF    WASHINGTON    PORTRAITS 

His  ambition  to  paint  the  portrait  of  Washington 
is  said  to  have  been  the  principal  cause  of  his 
return  to  his  native  land,  in  1792.  It  was  not 
until  1794,  however,  that  he  proceeded  to  Phila 
delphia,  armed  with  a  letter  of  introduction  to 
the  President  from  John  Jay,  and  the  year  1795 
was  well  advanced  before  the  first  sitting  was 
arranged  for.  Stuart  appears  never  to  have  en 
joyed  the  same  terms  of  intimacy  with  Wash 
ington  that  fell  to  the  lot  of  either  Trumbull  or 
Peale.  It  has  been  said  that  he  never  was  quite 
at  ease  with  him  who,  without  in  the  least  mean 
ing  to  do  so,  frequently  overawed  those  with 
whom  he  came  in  contact.  However  this  may 
be,  Stuart  did  paint  three  portraits  from  life 
within  the  short  period  of  a  year.  The  Athen 
aeum  head  he  never  finished  and  the  tradition 
that  it  was  left  in  this  condition  in  order  that 
he  might  retain  it  in  his  studio  as  a  "nest  egg" 
from  which  he  could  make  copies  is  certainly 
pretty  well  substantiated.  This  charming  por 
trait,  together  with  the  companion  portrait  of 
Mrs.  Washington,  was  sold  by  his  family  after 
his  death  for  $1500  and  given  to  the  Boston 
Athenaeum,  and  the  fact  that  practically  all  the 
copies  made  by  Stuart  are  from  this  picture 
shows  how  industriously  he  must  have  taken 

44 


GILBERT    STUART 

advantage  of  the  opportunity  presented  by  having 
this  portrait  ever  before  him. 

Stuart  died  in  1828  and  was  buried  in  Boston 
Common.  He  was  not  only  a  very  rapid  but 
a  prolific  worker.  At  the  exhibition  of  his 
portraits  held  in  Boston  in  1880  there  was  pub 
lished  a  list  of  his  portraits,  and  although  this 
was  not  complete,  it  contained  over  seven  hun 
dred  and  fifty  numbers. 

The  whereabouts  of  the  various  well-authen 
ticated  portraits  of  Washington  by  Stuart  are  for 
the  most  part  pretty  well  known,  but  occasion 
ally  some  portrait  which  is  known  to  exist  is 
lost  sight  of  until,  by  some  chance,  it  is  rescued 
from  obscurity.  The  most  popular  type  of 
Washington  portrait  has  ever  been,  not  the 
Washington  of  the  Revolution  in  a  military 
uniform,  but  Washington,  the  President.  Not 
the  man  of  middle  age  with  a  comparatively 
young  face,  undisturbed  by  cares  and  anxieties, 
but  the  bewigged  and  powdered  gentleman  in  a 
velvet  coat  and  breeches  and  with  a  dress  sword 
at  his  side.  No  man  ever  changed  more  in  ap 
pearance  than  did  Washington  between  the  pe 
riod  of  the  Revolution  and  the  time  of  his  sec 
ond  administration  as  President,  when  he  was 
sought  after  as  a  subject  by  the  artists  of  America 

45 


THREE    TYPES    OF    WASHINGTON    PORTRAITS 

and  by  some  who  came  across  the  seas  to  paint 
his  portrait.  The  distinction  of  painting  the 
great  leader  was  considered  one  which  added 
fame  rather  to  the  artist  than  to  the  subject. 

In  the  interesting  catalogue  of"  Engraved  Por 
traits  of  Washington,"  published  by  the  Grolier 
Club  and  edited  by  Mr.  Charles  Henry  Hart, 
there  are  described  sixty-six  engravings  of  Wash 
ington  after  Charles  Willson  Peale  portraits,  fifty- 
two  after  Trumbull,  but  there  are  enumerated 
four  hundred  and  forty-one  engravings  after  Stu 
art  ;  in  brief,  there  are  nearly  four  times  as  many 
Stuart  prints  of  Washington  as  there  are  of  Peale 
and  Trumbull  combined. 

The  Stuart  portraits  have  been  cleverly  classi 
fied  for  the  convenience  of  collectors,  into  three 
main  groups,  known  after  the  three  principal 
originals  which  are  recognized  as  having  been 
painted  from  life.  These  are  known  as  the 
Vaughan  type,  the  Lansdowne  type  and  the  Ath 
enaeum  type.  Of  these,  by  far  the  most  popu 
lar,  if  we  are  to  judge  from  the  number  of  times 
the  portrait  has  been  engraved,  is  the  last-men 
tioned  portrait.  From  our  childhood  days  we 
have  all  been  brought  up  on  that  delightful, 
benign  head  with  the  unfinished  background, 
called  the  Athenasum  portrait.  The  Lans- 

46 


GILBERT    STUART 

downe  type  is  less  well  known.  Washington  sat 
to  Stuart  for  the  original  of  this  important  full- 
length  portrait  in  1796.  The  sitting  was  ar 
ranged  for  at  the  request  of  Mrs.  Bingham,  of 
Philadelphia,  as  the  portrait  was  intended  as  a 
present  for  the  Marquis  of  Lansdowne,  after 
whom  it  has  ever  since  been  called.  It  is  now 
in  the  possession  of  Lord  Rosebery. 

When  this  picture  was  finished  and  sent  to 
London,  the  portrait  was  engraved  by  James 
Heath  and  published  in  1 800  without  the  knowl 
edge  or  consent  of  the  artist.  It  appears  that 
Stuart  had  exacted  a  promise  from  Mr.  Bingham 
that  all  rights  of  copyright  should  vest  in  him, 
but  through  some  oversight  the  matter  was  neg 
lected,  and  great  was  Stuart's  wrath  when  he  dis 
covered  these  prints,  by  Heath,  being  offered  for 
sale  in  Philadelphia.  To  add  insult  to  injury, 
the  engraver  misspelled  the  artist's  name  and  ac 
credited  the  portrait  to  "  Gabriel  "  Stuart.  Miss 
Stuart  states  that  this  bitter  subject  could  not  be 
mentioned  even  in  later  years  without  her  fath 
er's  becoming  greatly  disturbed  and  pacing  up 
and  down  the  room  in  anger.  The  print  pos 
sesses  little  artistic  merit,  but  the  artist  felt  he 
had  suffered  great  pecuniary  loss  through  the  fail 
ure  to  obtain  copyright  protection.  This  led  to 

47 


THREE    TYPES    OF    WASHINGTON    PORTRAITS 

an  open  rupture  between  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bingham 
and  himself. 

As  far  as  his  artistic  sensibilities  are  concerned 
he  need  not  have  grieved  greatly,  as  full  justice 
was  done  to  the  picture  in  the  following  year, 
when  Edward  Savage,  the  most  eminent  and  fa 
mous  of  American  engravers  in  mezzotint,  pub 
lished  a  very  handsome  reproduction  of  the 
Lansdowne  type.  This  is  without  doubt  the 
most  important  mezzotint,  both  on  account  of 
size  and  subject  and  manner  of  treatment,  of  any 
that  have  been  produced  in  this  country.  Un 
fortunately,  this  was  engraved  on  a  very  soft  piece 
of  copper  which  very  quickly  wore  out,  so  that 
to-day  it  is  almost  impossible  to  find  a  really  fine 
impression  of  this  important  work.  The  two 
proofs  which  the  writer  has  seen  are  very  beau 
tiful,  and  show  the  costume  with  such  a  soft  sur 
face,  that  it  almost  seems  as  if  one  could  feel  the 
warm  surface  of  the  velvet.  The  great  impor 
tance  of  this  print  in  a  collection  of  Washing 
ton  engravings  seems  never  to  have  been  appre 
ciated.  Not  only  is  it  entitled  to  a  premier 
position  as  a  specimen  of  mezzotint  work  which 
will  bear  comparison  with  the  best  mezzotints 
of  England  at  a  time  when  the  art  of  engraving 
in  this  manner  was  at  its  height,  but  it  is  quite 

48 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

ENGRAVED    BY    E.    SAVAGE l8oi 

AFTER   THE    LANSDOWNE    PORTRAIT 


GILBERT    STUART 

remarkable  that  a  plate  of  this  size  could  have 
been  produced  at  all  at  that  early  day,  in  view  of 
the  undeveloped  state  of  the  art  in  this  country 
at  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
The  print  measures  twenty-seven  inches  in 
height  and  twenty  and  five-tenths  inches  in 
width.* 

Edward  Savage  has  never  been  accorded  his 
rightful  position  as  a  mezzotint  engraver  of  the 
first  order.  Not  only  was  he  an  engraver  in 
mezzotint  and  stipple,  but  he  was  an  artist  of 
considerable  merit.  His  engravings  were  pub 
lished  towards  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  and 
beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century.  As  works 
of  art  they  have  never  been  rivaled  or  approached 
by  any  engraver  in  this  country,  and  they  will 
bear  comparison  with  the  work  of  the  great  con 
temporary  masters  in  England.  As  in  the  Wash 
ington  portrait,  however,  the  plates  were  all  very 
soft,  and  no  fair  estimate  can  be  formed  of  his 
work  unless  proofs  or  very  early  impressions  can 
be  procured. 

In  the  monumental  work  on  the  "  American 
Engravers  on  Copper  and  Steel,"  edited  and  com 
piled  by  D.  McN.  Stauffer,  and  recently  published 
by  the  Grolier  Club,  the  author  has  reproduced 
*See  Hart,  No.  293. 

49 


THREE    TYPES    OF    WASHINGTON    PORTRAITS 

as  a  type  of  his  work  the  small  portrait  of  Wash 
ington  by  Savage,  which  is  engraved  in  stipple. 
It  seems  unfortunate  that  one  of  the  mezzotint 
plates  of  this  master  was  not  used  as  being  more 
representative  of  the  work  of  Savage.  He  was 
surpassed  as  a  stipple  engraver  by  both  Tiebout 
and  Longacre,  but  no  one  in  this  country  ever 
surpassed  him  as  a  mezzotint  engraver. 

The  second  most  important  engraving  of  the 
Lansdowne  type  is  also  a  very  large  print,  meas 
uring  twenty-four  and  four-tenths  inches  in 
height  and  sixteen  and  one-tenth  inches  in 
width,  by  an  unknown  engraver  and  published 
the  same  year  as  the  Savage  print,  viz.,  July  i, 
1 80 1,  by  Atkins  &  Nightingale,  No.  100  Chest 
nut  Street,  Philadelphia  (Hart,  292).  This  print 
was  published  in  black  and  in  colors.  A  very 
beautiful  impression  of  this  mezzotint  in  proof 
state  (before  letters),  printed  in  colors,  brought 
the  record  price  for  a  Washington  print  of 
$1,250  at  the  sale  of  Judge  Mitchell's  collec 
tion,  in  1906. 

The  earliest  type  of  all,  however,  and  the  one 
which  is  now  most  admired  by  those  who  have 
made  a  study  of  the  Washington  portraits  is 
known  as  the  Vaughan  type.  It  is  so  called  be 
cause  the  first  portrait  ever  painted  of  Washing- 

50 


GILBERT    STUART 

ton  by  Stuart  was  painted  for  Mr.  Samuel 
Vaughan  in  September,  1795.  This  portrait 
was  sent  to  London,  where  Mr.  Vaughan  re 
sided,  and  it  was  engraved  by  T.  Halloway  and 
published  in  London,  November  2,  1796  (Hart, 
259).  There  is  great  uncertainty  in  regard  to 
this  portrait.  In  a  letter  written  by  Stuart  when 
a  very  old  man  he  makes  the  statement  that  the 
portrait  painted  for  Mr.  Vaughan  was  rubbed 
out  by  him,  but  later  authorities  have  favored 
the  theory  that  this  was  an  error  and  that  prob 
ably  this  portrait  is  the  one  now  owned  by  Mrs. 
Joseph  Harrison,  of  Philadelphia.  The  writer 
has  not  seen  this  original,  but  judging  from  a 
photographic  reproduction  it  seems  to  lack  the 
stamp  of  vigor  and  originality  that  are  found  in 
the  Scott  or  the  Gibbs-Channing  portrait. 

It  is  not  now  possible  to  assert  positively  which 
of  these  particular  portraits  is  from  life,  but  both 
the  Scott  and  the  Gibbs-Channing  portraits  pos 
sess  so  much  quality  that  there  is  every  reason 
to  believe  that  in  any  event  they  must  have  re 
ceived  finishing  touches  while  Washington  was 
posing  in  the  artist's  studio.  This  type  differs 
widely  from  the  Athenaeum  type  in  that  it 
represents  Washington  as  a  somewhat  younger 
man  and  it  is  more  pleasing,  as  it  was  painted 


THREE    TYPES    OF    WASHINGTON    PORTRAITS 

before  his  features  were  disfigured  by  a  bad  fitting 
set  of  false  teeth,  which  gave  his  mouth  such 
a  hard  appearance,  and  which  gives  him  an  un 
pleasant  expression  in  many  of  Stuart's  portraits. 

Although  Stuart  painted  Washington  again 
and  again,  according  to  Rembrandt  Peale,  he 
only  painted  six  portraits  of  the  Vaughan  type, 
which  shows  the  right  and  best  side  of  Wash 
ington's  head.  "  In  the  lower  part  of  the  face 
it  has  the  advantage  over  the  other  portraits  that 
he  afterwards  painted."  These  were  all  painted 
in  1795,  and  they  will  be  specifically  mentioned 
later.  In  1796  he  painted  the  Lansdowne  full- 
length  and  soon  after  followed  the  Athenaeum 
head. 

George  C.  Mason,  in  his  work  entitled  "  The 
Life  and  Works  of  Gilbert  Stuart,"  published 
1879,  says:  "Stuart  was  overrun  with  orders  for 
portraits  from  the  moment  that  his  picture  of 
Washington  was  painted  and  although,  as  shown 
by  the  list  he  made  out,  he  had  heavy  calls  for 
copies  of  his  likeness  of  the  President,  but  few 
of  them  were  at  that  time  filled.  When  at 
length  he  began  to  meet  this  demand — and  this 
was  not  till  1796  —  his  copies  were  all  made 
from  the  picture  known  as  the  Athenaeum  head, 
which  shows  the  left  side  of  the  head."  This 

52 


IVORY  MINIATURE  OF  GILBERT  STUART 

PAINTED    BY   MISS    GOODRIDGE 
OWNED    BY   THE    METROPOLITAN    MUSEUM    OF    ART 


GILBERT    STUART 

author  also  writes  that  the  Washington  portraits 
may  be  divided  into  two  classes.  "  One  shows 
the  right  side  of  the  face — these  are  the  earlier 
pictures,  and  the  other,  giving  the  left  side,  takes 
in  all  the  portraits  painted  after  April,  1796  — 
the  Lansdowne,  Constable,  Athenaeum  and  other 
pictures  that  are  generally  known  as  *  Stuart's 
Washingtons.'  It  is  very  easy  to  establish  the 
fact  that  the  earlier  portraits  show  only  the  right 
side  of  the  face,  but  it  is  not  possible  to  say  now 
which  of  the  earlier  portraits  is  the  earliest/' 

It  will  be  interesting  to  enumerate  briefly  the 
portraits  of  the  type  which  shows  the  right  side 
of  the  head.  Doubtless  one  of  the  most  finished 
and  beautiful  of  all  is  the  so-called  Gibbs-Chan- 
ning  portrait,  which  belonged  to  Mr.  Samuel 
P.  Avery,  of  New  York,  and  which  has  just 
been  purchased  by  the  Metropolitan  Museum  of 
Art,  where  it  is  now  on  exhibition.  The  Mu 
seum  is  to  be  congratulated  upon  this  notable 
acquisition.  This  portrait  has  a  very  clear  ped 
igree.  It  was  sold  by  Stuart  at  an  early  date  to 
his  warm  personal  friend,  Colonel  George  Gibbs, 
and  is  claimed  to  have  been  touched  up  from  life. 
Of  this  there  is  no  proof,  however,  beyond  the 
intrinsic  merit  of  the  portrait  itself.  Colonel 
Gibbs  later  sold  the  picture  to  his  sister,  Mrs. 

53 


THREE    TYPES    OF    WASHINGTON    PORTRAITS 

William  Ellery  Channing,  who  gave  it  to  her 
son,  Dr.  William  Q^  Channing.  Mr.  Avery  pur 
chased  the  portrait  from  Dr.  Channing.  In  a 
letter  which  Dr.  Channing  wrote  Mr.  Avery  he 
makes  the  following  comment,  which  may  be 
said  to  apply  equally  to  all  the  six  portraits  of 
this  type:  "  The  venerable  A.  B.  Durand,  when 
shown  a  photograph  of  it,  said,  *  That  is  a  like 
ness.  It  is  much  superior  in  character  to  the 
Athenaeum  portrait  and  should  be  considered  the 
standard  ;  both  the  artist  and  the  subject  would 
gain  by  it/  He  also  said  he  wished  he  could 
have  known  of  it  in  earlier  life,  evidently  mean 
ing  that  he  would  have  engraved  it  instead  of 
the  Athenaeum  portrait." 

The  canvas,  however,  which,  in  the  admirable 
work  on  "Original  Portraits  of  Washington," 
by  Miss  Elizabeth  Bryant  Johnston,  published  in 
1882,  receives  with  the  Athenaeum,  Gibbs-Chan- 
ning  and  Vaughan  heads  the  most  extended  and 
flattering  notice,  is  the  portrait  reproduced  at  the 
beginning  of  this  chapter,  and  recently  acquired 
by  the  writer.  Its  size  is  the  standard  Stuart 
size,  25x30  inches.  After  critical  examination 
of  this  portrait,  which  belonged  to  Mrs.  Anna  R. 
Reilly,  at  present  living  near  Trenton,  N.  J.,  this 
critic  says:  "  It  is  painted  upon  twilled  canvas, 

54 


GILBERT    STUART 

and  the  nails  are  also  of  the  same  kind  that  Stuart 
always  used.  The  back-ground  is  a  rich,  dark 
red  and  the  portrait,  which  was  once  on  exhibi 
tion  in  New  York,  is  described  as  being  '  a  solid 
work,  the  color  good  and  portraying  Washington 
as  somewhat  younger  than  in  Stuart's  other  pic 
tures/  It  has  never  been  engraved,  but  has  been 
loaned  to  the  New  Haven  Art  School.  This 
picture  is  another  (the  authoress  has  just  de 
scribed  the  Gibbs-Channing  portrait)  very  beau 
tiful  reproduction  of  Stuart's  first  picture,  and, 
as  Mr.  Peale  says,  the  lines  of  the  mouth  are 
less  objectionable  than  in  the  Athenaeum  por 
trait." 

This  portrait  has  a  very  complete  pedigree,  as 
may  be  seen  from  the  accompanying  letter  from 
the  late  owner  : 


Trenton,  N.  J. 

March  joth,  1907. 
Charles  Allen  Munn,  Esqr 

Dear  Sir, 

The  portrait  of  General  Washington  by  Gilbert  Stu 
art  was  purchased  from  the  artist  by  Mr.  Scott,  of  Lan 
caster,  Penna.,  and  was  always  considered  one  of  the  six 
original  portraits. 

Mr.  Scott  was  well  known  to  my  family,  and  at  his 
death,  my  grandfather,  Edward  Brien  of  Mattick  Iron- 

55 


THREE    TYPES    OF    WASHINGTON    PORTRAITS 

works,  Penna.,  bought  the  picture.  My  grandfather 
was  married  in  1805,  and  the  picture  was  purchased 
soon  after.  My  grandfather  died  very  suddenly  in 
1816  in  his  forty-seventh  year.  His  family  then  re 
moved  to  Lancaster,  Penna.,  the  portrait  then  becom 
ing  the  property  of  my  grandmother,  Dorothy  Brien. 
She  was  a  daughter  of  General  Edward  Hand.  About 
1850,  the  Historical  Society  of  Baltimore  wrote  to  her, 
and  wanted  to  purchase  the  Stuart  Washington.  I 
was  a  young  girl  at  that  time,  and  I  answered  the  let 
ter,  at  my  grandmother's  dictation,  and  declined  to  sell. 
The  picture  has  been  exhibited  at  the  Union  League 
Club,  the  Art  School  in  New  Haven  and  in  the  gallery 
of  A.  T.  Stewart.  I  have  lived  in  the  house  with  it, 
except  on  those  occasions,  all  my  life.  In  1876,  an 
article  appeared  in  the  "  Century  "  [then  called  Scrib- 
ner's  Monthly]  by  Miss  Stuart,  the  daughter  of  the 
artist,  in  which  she  stated  that  one  of  the  most  cele 
brated  of  her  father's  portraits  could  not  be  accounted 
for.  Of  course  it  was  our  picture  and  I  was  urged  to 
write,  and  give  an  account  of  it.  I  was  then  in  great 
affliction,  and  did  not  care  to  write.  Miss  Stuart  urged 
the  person  who  had  the  portrait  to  come  forward.  I 
am  sorry  now  I  did  not  do  so.  My  husband,  Mr.  Ed 
ward  Reilly,  bought  the  picture  from  my  mother. 

After  I  became  the  owner  of  it  I  would  not  allow  it 
to  go  out  of  my  hands.  We  went  to  live  in  New  York 
in  1 88 1,  and  it  was  wanted  for  some  celebration  there 
but  I  refused  to  have  it  go.  In  1879,  a  lady  from 
Washington  came  to  New  Haven  to  see  the  picture,  as 
she  was  writing  a  history  of  the  Stuart  portraits,  and 

56 


GILBERT    STUART 

wanted  to  put  it  in  her  book.*  It  was  then  at  the  Art 
School.  She  climbed  up  a  ladder  to  view  it  closely, 
and  then  asked  permission  to  have  it  taken  down  for 
her  to  examine  the  canvas,  as  Stuart  pictures  were  all 
painted  on  a  certain  canvas.  She  found  the  canvas  all 
right.  For  the  last  seven  years  the  portrait  has  been 
here.  Since  the  death  of  my  son-in-law,  Mr.  John 
Stockton  Hough,  I  told  my  daughter  Edith,  who  is 
my  only  remaining  child,  that  I  had  left  her  the  por 
trait  in  my  will,  and  if  she  wished  to  sell  it  she  had  bet 
ter  do  so  during  my  lifetime,  as  I  could  tell  all  about  it. 
Prof.  O.  C.  Marsh,  of  New  Haven,  asked  a  friend 
of  mine  to  induce  me  to  present  the  Washington  to 
Yale.  It  seems  that  the  six  original  pictures  were  four 
with  the  head  one  way  and  two  the  other.  Our  pic 
ture  was  one  of  the  two.  A  gentleman  in  Phila.  owns 
the  other.  He  wrote  to  me  about  it  and  came  to 
Trenton  to  see  mine,  but  I  was  absent  and  missed  him. 
Moreover,  I  have  forgotten  his  name.  Mr.  Hough 
knew  him.  Only  for  Mr.  Hough's  violent  and  sudden 
death  in  1890,  the  portrait  of  Washington  would  not 
have  been  offered  for  sale.  If  I  have  omitted  anything 
you  wish  to  know,  please  write  me. 
Sincerely  yours, 
(Signed)  Anna  R.  Reilly. 

In  another  letter  Mrs.  Reilly  writes:   "I  have 

*  The  lady  referred  to  was  evidently  Miss  Elizabeth  Bryant 
Johnston,  the  author  of  that  very  interesting  work,  "  Origi 
nal  Portraits  of  Washington/'  published  by  Messrs.  Charles 
Scribner's  Sons  in  1882. 

57 


THREE    TYPES    OF    WASHINGTON    PORTRAITS 

lived  in  the  house  with  that  picture  nearly  all  my 
life.  I  was  brought  up  by  my  grandmother  Brien 
and  her  two  sisters,  daughters  of  General  Edward 
Hand,  and  all  I  know  about  its  purchase  I  know 
from  them.  Mrs.  Scott,  the  wife  of  the  original 
owner,  was  godmother  to  one  of  my  great-aunts. 
She  (my  aunt)  lived  to  be  ninety-four/' 

Among  Stuart's  papers  was  found  a  list  of  the 
portraits  of  the  President  of  the  United  States 
for  which  he  had  already  received  orders.  It 
is  dated  April  20,  1795.  In  this  list  appears  the 
name  of  Mr.  Scott,  of  Lancaster,  the  original 
owner  of  this  portrait  and  the  person  alluded  to 
in  the  letter  of  Mrs.  Reilly.  Among  others 
in  this  list  are  Mr.  Vaughan,  Benjamin  West, 
President  of  the  Royal  Academy,  Colonel  Burr, 
of  New  York,  Mr.  Chief  Justice  Jay,  Colonel 
Read  and  Don  Jose  de  Jaudennes,  who  gave 
Stuart  an  order  for  five  portraits  of  the  Presi 
dent.  This  liberal  patron  of  art  will  be  recog 
nized  as  the  original  of  the  beautiful  portrait  by 
Stuart  which  has  recently  (1907)  been  hung  in 
the  Metropolitan  Museum,  together  with  the 
charming  portrait  of  his  youthful  American 
bride.  One  cannot  help  wondering  if  these  five 
portraits  were  ever  painted  and  if  so,  what  has 
become  of  them. 

58 


GILBERT    STUART 


Another  very  charming  portrait  of  this  same 
type  was  illustrated  in  McClure's  Magazine  for 
February,  1897.  This  portrait  belonged  at  that 
time  to  Mr.  Charles  Henry  Hart,  who  later  sold 
it  to  Mr.  Marsden  J.  Perry,  of  Providence.  Mr. 
Hart  claims  that  this  portrait  was  originally 
painted  for  Mrs.  Bingham,  through  whose  in 
strumentality  the  full-length  portrait  was  painted 
and  sent  to  the  Marquis  of  Lansdowne.  Mr. 
Hart,  in  his  accompanying  notes,  says  :  "  A  du 
plicate  of  this  portrait  is  owned  by  Mrs.  Joseph 
Harrison,  of  Philadelphia,  and  these  two  are  the 
only  ones  of  this  type  known.  The  beautiful 
Gibbs-Channing  portrait  ...  is  different/' 
Mr.  Hart  was  evidently  unaware  at  that  time  of 
the  portrait  belonging  to  Mrs.  Reilly  and  of  the 
one  belonging  to  Mr.  Rives.  It  is  indeed  strange 
that  of  all  the  Stuart  portraits  of  Washington  ex 
tant,  there  should  be  only  these  few  which  are 
of  the  better  type  and  show  the  nobler  man.  Mr. 
Hart  says  :  "  Until  recently  it  was  an  unknown 
type  to  the  general  public,  but  it  is  gradually  com 
ing  to  the  front,  its  proper  place,  and  is  being 
accepted  as  a  more  correct  and  real  portrait  of 
Washington  than  the  familiar  Athenaeum  head." 

Another  portrait,  which  belongs  to  the  same 
type  and  period  of  1795,  belongs  to  Mr.  George 

59 


THREE    TYPES    OF    WASHINGTON    PORTRAITS 

L.  Rives,  of  New  York.  This  portrait  is  almost 
exactly  similar  to  the  Scott  portrait,  having  the 
same  background  of  plain,  deep  red.  It  was  in 
herited  by  Mr.  Rives  from  his  father,  Mr. 
Francis  Rives,  who  purchased  it  from  Mrs. 
George  Rives,  of  Sherwood,  Albemarle  County, 
Virginia.  Mrs.  Rives  had  inherited  the  portrait 
from  her  father,  Professor  Tucker,  of  the  Uni 
versity  of  Virginia,  the  biographer  and  friend  of 
Jefferson.  It  is  not  known  how  the  portrait 
came  into  the  possession  of  Professor  Tucker. 

For  purposes  of  comparison  there  is  repro 
duced  a  miniature  on  ivory  painted  by  Robert 
Field.  This  miniature  is  of  special  interest  as 
it  contains  at  the  back  a  lock  of  Washington's 
hair.  This  interesting  heirloom  was  presented 
by  Mrs.  Washington  to  Tobias  Lear,  who  for 
many  years  was  Washington's  secretary  and 
trusted  friend.  It  remained  in  the  possession  of 
the  family  until  a  few  years  ago,  when  it  was 
acquired  by  the  present  owner. 

Probably  the  best  description  which  has  yet 
been  published  of  Gilbert  Stuart's  style  of  paint 
ing  will  be  found  in  Samuel  Isham's  "History 
of  American  Painting,"  published  by  the  Mac- 
millan  Co.,  New  York,  1905: 

"  Gilbert   Stuart  still  holds  his   place  among 

60 


MINIATURE  OF  WASHINGTON 

BY   ROBERT   FIELD 
PRESENTED   TO   TOBIAS    LEAR    BY   MRS.   WASHINGTON 


GILBERT    STUART 

our  best  painters,  and  even  among  his  great  con 
temporaries  in  England.  His  scope  was  limited. 
While  they  covered  large  canvases  with  full- 
length  figures  and  groups,  using  every  aid  of  com 
position  and  costume  to  produce  their  effects, 
and  showing  the  result  of  this  practice  even  in 
the  arrangement  of  their  half-length  portraits, 
Stuart  painted  heads  and  little  besides  heads,  as 
far  as  known  not  a  single  group,  a  few  full- 
lengths,  more  half-lengths,  a  large  number  of 
what  used  to  be  called  Kit-Kats — canvases  thirty 
by  twenty-five  inches — and  many  even  smaller 
than  that.  The  heads  are  placed  near  the  center 
of  the  canvases,  often  so  near  it  that  the  figure, 
which  was  painted  in  afterward,  is  cramped  as  it 
would  not  be  if  the  head  were  higher.  There 
is  no  effort  to  diversify  the  attitudes;  and  the 
costumes,  while  skilfully  and  sufficiently  done, 
are  but  accessories  to  the  heads,  and  there  is  no 
attempt  to  make  them  of  important  pictorial  in 
terest.  The  heads  themselves  are  all  painted  in 
a  cool,  diffused  light,  seldom  relieved  by  heavy 
shadows  or  dark  backgrounds.  There  is  noth 
ing  striking,  nothing  forced;  it  is  only  a  head  — 
a  head  with  its  ordinary  lighting  and  expression. 
No  artifice  is  used  to  throw  it  into  undue  prom 
inence.  Within  these  limitations  (and  they  are 

61 


THREE    TYPES    OF    WASHINGTON    PORTRAITS 

serious  ones)  they  are  unsurpassed.  No  one  of  his 
contemporaries  had  a  surer  feeling  for  the  con 
struction  of  a  head  or  a  surer  insight  into  char 
acter.  There  are  contradictory  reports  of  his 
industry  or  indolence  in  studying  drawing ;  but 
whether  by  industry  or  nature,  he  possessed  it 
thoroughly,  as  far  as  the  human  features  were 
concerned. 

"Where  he  acquired  his  technique  as  a  painter 
is  even  more  mysterious.  It  seems  to  have  been 
original  with  him.  He  could  have  got  little 
teaching  from  Cosmo  Alexander  in  Newport  or 
in  his  erratic  life  before  meeting  West.  .  .  . 
Exactly  what  the  influence  of  his  stay  in  West's 
studio  was  is  difficult  to  determine  ;  the  obvious 
effects  to  be  looked  for  he  seems  to  have  com 
pletely  escaped.  He  got  no  taste  for  imitating 
the  old  masters,  nor  any  liking  for  allegory,  nor 
any  skill  in  composition  or  in  the  handling  of 
large  canvases.  Dunlap  recognized  their  '  dif 
ference  of  opinion  and  style/  and  in  connection 
with  it  mentions  the  following  circumstance 
which  took  place  about  1786  on  the  occasion  of 
a  visit  to  his  old  master's  house  and  gallery  in 
Newman  Street:  '  Trumbull  was  painting  on  a 
portrait,  and  the  writer  literally  lending  him  a 
hand  by  sitting  for  it.  Stuart  came  in,  and  his 

62 


GILBERT    STUART 

opinion  was  asked  as  to  the  coloring,  which  he 
gave  very  much  in  these  words  :  *  Pretty  well, 
pretty  well,  but  more  like  our  master's  flesh  than 
nature's.  When  Benny  teaches  the  boys,  he  says, 
"  Yellow  and  white  there/'  and  he  makes  a 
streak;  "red  and  white  there,"  another  streak; 
"  brown  and  red  there  for  a  warm  shadow,"  an 
other  streak;  "red  and  yellow  there,"  another 
streak.  But  nature  does  not  color  in  streaks. 
Look  at  my  hand,  see  how  the  colors  are  mot 
tled  and  mingled,  yet  all  is  clear  as  silver/ 

"No  better  description  of  his  own  style  can 
be  given.  He  paints  with  an  unequaled  purity 
and  freshness  of  color,  very  delicate  and  sure  in 
the  half-tones,  varying  his  color  to  suit  the  in 
dividual,  but  with  a  pearly  brightness  which  is 
characteristic.  The  paint  is  put  on  thinly,  as  a 
rule,  in  short,  decided  touches  without  heavy 
impasto,  *  mingled  and  mottled,'  as  he  himself 
says,  and  his  execution  was  surprisingly  sure. 
Two  or  three  sittings  sufficed  for  a  head,  which 
he  painted  at  once  in  its  true  colors,  distributing 
the  paint  as  little  as  possible  after  it  was  on  the 
canvas,  and  without  resorting  to  the  glazings  and 
varnishings  so  much  in  vogue  in  England.  This 
sureness  of  touch  was  the  more  remarkable  be 
cause  even  in  his  youth  Stuart's  hand  was  trem- 

63 


THREE    TYPES    OF    WASHINGTON    PORTRAITS 

bling  and  unsteady ;  and  in  his  later  years,  when 
some  of  his  best  work  was  done,  an  eye-witness 
says  that  'his  hand  shook  so  that  it  seemed  im 
possible  that  he  could  paint.  The  last  time  I 
saw  him  I  think  he  was  painting  the  portrait  of 
Josiah  Quincy  (in  1824).  Stuart  stood  with  his 
wrist  upon  the  rest,  his  hand  vibrating,  and,  when 
it  became  tolerably  steady,  with  a  sudden  dash 
of  the  brush  he  put  the  color  on  the  canvas/ 

"  The  brilliancy  and  preservation  of  his  works 
to-day  attest  the  soundness  of  his  practice.  He 
painted  with  a  restricted  palette  which  the  cu 
rious  may  find  in  Dunlap  and  Mason,  with  his 
method  of  setting  it ;  but  let  them  not  hope  to 
produce  the  same  results.  Stuart's  style  was  his 
own.  He  did  not  learn  it  from  others,  and 
though  he  gave  advice  freely  and  generously,  he 
could  not  teach  it  to  any  successor/' 

In  Mason's  "Life  of  Stuart  "  above  referred 
to,  appears  the  following  quotation  from  Miss 
Jane  Stuart,  the  daughter  of  the  great  master. 
She  says  : 

"  I  am  frequently  asked  by  young  artists  to 
give  them  some  account  of  my  father's  method 
of  painting  ;  this  I  am  quite  willing  to  do,  so  far 
as  my  early  recollection  will  permit ;  but  I  have 
not  the  presumption  to  attempt  to  explain  his 

64 


GILBERT    STUART 

wonderful  effects,  which  were  peculiar  to  him 
self;  nor  do  I  believe  they  could  be  transmitted. 

"  The  impression  I  have  received  from  a  study 
of  Stuart's  heads  is  that  his  success  was  due  in  a 
great  measure  to  his  wonderful  perceptive  facul 
ties.  As  he  was  quick  to  read  the  character  of 
a  sitter,  so  had  he  a  clear  insight  into  the  color 
of  his  complexion,  and  never  was  he  known  to 
fail  in  this  particular. 

"  He  commenced  a  portrait  by  drawing  the 
head  and  features,  and  then  he  sketched  in  the 
general  tone  of  the  complexion ;  for  this  he  sel 
dom  required  more  than  four  or  five  sittings,  and 
frequently  it  was  done  in  three  sittings.  The 
picture  was  never  touched  except  when  the  sitter 
was  in  the  chair.  At  the  second  sitting  he  in 
troduced  transparent  flesh-tints,  at  the  third  he 
began  to  awaken  it  into  life  and  give  it  expres 
sion,  and  then  the  individuality  of  the  sitter  came 
out.  This  was  always  done  quickly.  In  the  por 
traits  of  men  advanced  in  life,  where  the  round 
ness  of  youth  is  gone,  we  can  almost  fancy  that 
he  has  given  motion  to  the  features.  .  .  . 

"  It  has  been  said  by  some  critics  that  his  col 
oring  was  too  strong — that  there  was  too  great 
a  preponderance  of  carnation  in  his  flesh-tints  ; 
to  this  I  cannot  subscribe.  Stuart  did  not  rely 

65 


THREE    TYPES    OF    WASHINGTON    PORTRAITS 

on  or  require  strong  colors  to  produce  his  ef 
fects,  for  he  had  the  faculty  of  bringing  out  his 
heads  simply  by  the  use  of  middle  tints  and  tones, 
giving  all  the  required  rotundity  and  relief  with 
out  the  assistance  of  black  shadows  and  heavy 
backgrounds;  and  yet  the  faces  so  painted  are 
full  of  character  and  expression.  In  his  work 
there  is  no  appearance  of  labor,  but  everything 
that  he  did  showed  force  and  energy — so  long 
as  he  kept  to  the  head.  When  that  was  com 
pleted  his  enthusiasm  seems  to  have  abated. 
With  some  notable  exceptions,  the  other  parts 
of  his  pictures  were  painted  but  indifferently ; 
but  if  he  particularly  fancied  the  subject,  or  the 
sitter  was  one  in  whom  he  took  more  than  his 
usual  interest,  he  worked  with  the  greatest  care 
to  the  end.  In  his  draperies  he  was  exceedingly 
careless,  but  he  amused  himself  at  times  by  paint 
ing  lace,  showing  with  a  few  bold  touches  of  his 
pencil  how  easy  it  is  to  produce  an  effect  when 
one  understands  what  he  is  about.  But  if  any 
one  of  his  intimate  friends  took  him  to  task  for 
carelessness  in  rubbing  in  the  accessories  in  a  por 
trait,  he  at  once  replied,  *  I  copy  the  works  of 
God,  and  leave  clothes  to  tailors  and  mantua- 
makers.'  " 


66 


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